Several Hoover neighborhoods to hold 2020 election forums for mayor, council candidates

A group of leaders and residents from several Hoover neighborhoods are holding two online election forums this week to give Hoover voters a chance to hear from the 19 candidates for mayor and City Council.

The first forum will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday and will feature the 16 candidates seeking to fill six contested City Council seats, plus a few words from Councilman Derrick Murphy, who is unopposed for his second term.

Then on Wednesday night, people will get a chance to hear from Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato and his challenger for the mayor’s seat, City Council President Gene Smith. That forum also is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and is expected to last one to two hours, said Heather Skaggs, a Bluff Park resident helping organize the forum.

Volunteers putting the forums together come from the Blackridge, Bluff Park, Green Valley, Monte D’Oro and Riverchase communities, Skaggs said.

There will not be a live audience for either forum. Instead, both forums will be livestreamed on the Hoover Candidates 2020 Forum page on Facebook.

Organizers of the event sought questions from the public in advance and will give candidates an opportunity to answer some of the questions during the forum, Skaggs said.

Seventy-four questions were submitted, many of them similar in nature, she said. Each candidate should get to answer seven to eight questions, she said. Some of the most popular topics included funding for public safety, investment in older neighborhoods, taxes and safety at the Riverchase Galleria, Skaggs said.

Neither event will be a debate between the candidates, she said.