Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato touts 'proven leadership' in 2020 reelection bid

Frank Brocato has been Hoover’s mayor for almost four years and is now asking voters to give him another four years.

Brocato said he has shown himself a proven leader in times of crisis, has kept promises he made when he first ran for mayor and has a great plan for Hoover’s future.

Specifically, Brocato said he wants continue the city’s strong partnership with Hoover City Schools, continue boosting Hoover’s economy, invest in the city’s neighborhoods, solve traffic congestion, maintain a focus on public safety, and build a diverse and equitable community.

Brocato said he already has developed a strong relationship with Hoover schools by meeting regularly with the superintendent, principals and Hoover Parent Teacher Council. Those meetings give him a good understanding of what is going on in the community, he said.

He also wants to make sure the city keeps a strong presence of school resource officers in each school.

His administration has a track record of working to attract and grow business in Hoover, he said, noting the additions of McLeod Software and Capstone Building Corp. at Meadow Brook Corporate Park and IberiaBank in International Park.

The city also has provided support for the new business incubator at The Offices at 3000 Riverchase, which aims to bolster technology companies and create a new energy on the Riverchase Galleria campus.

Brocato said he hopes the HAILO (Hoover Artificial Intelligence Logistics & Operations) business incubator will create the same resurgence for The Offices at 3000 Riverchase and Galleria campus as Innovation Depot has for downtown Birmingham. He hopes the incubator will help develop the next Shipt, Google or Apple, he said.

Brocato said he hopes his administration can help build on the growth of the restaurant scene in Hoover, which has gained some new national chains along with home-grown restaurants in recent years. “Hoover is really becoming a foodie type of town — a destination for restaurants,” he said.

The mayor said his administration also has been in serious discussions with owners of the Riverchase Galleria about potential redevelopment plans. It may be strictly a private development, but there also is potential for a public-private partnership, he said.

The biggest thing holding up that potential project is the fact that Sears owns its former store there, and what happens there depends on who buys it and what they want to do with it, he said. “We don’t control everything.”

NEIGHBORHOODS, TRAFFIC AND PUBLIC SAFETY

As for investing in neighborhoods, Brocato said the comprehensive plan that his administration spearheaded included efforts to protect established neighborhoods from businesses that some communities see as undesirable neighbors, such as vape stores and payday loan shops.

His administration also paid close attention to enforcing the city’s property maintenance code to get properties that are becoming unsightly back in shape, whether their poor condition was due to abandonment or the owner falling on hard times. The city also has tried to be diligent about removing old, abandoned cars, he said. “We just don’t allow that in these neighborhoods.”

Traffic congestion is a frequent complaint in Hoover, and Brocato said his administration quickly resurrected a plan to build a new Interstate 459 interchange near South Shades Crest Road. The city already has paid $2 million to buy 31 acres, plans to buy more land and is seeking federal grant money to pay for an interchange justification study that must be completed before the federal government will sign off on the plan.

The mayor believes a redesign of the I-459 interchange at John Hawkins Parkway also is an important part of solving traffic issues in western Hoover and said the traffic improvements there are important not just for Hoover, but also for Helena, Bessemer and Birmingham.

Regarding public safety, Brocato said the Hoover Police Department does a great job of providing public safety, leading to crime reductions in 2018 and 2019. The mayor and City Council have increased the number of firefighters and police officers in recent years to keep Hoover safe and soon will be opening a new $4 million police training center, he said.

The Police Department has come under increased scrutiny since a police officer fatally shot E.J. Bradford at the Riverchase Galleria in November 2018 and following the death of George Floyd as he was held down by Minneapolis police officers in May of this year. (The state attorney general's office cleared the Hoover police officer who shot Bradford of any wrongdoing.)

Brocato said the Hoover Police Department is going through an intense accreditation review right now that will take a deep dive into every policy and procedure the department has to either reinforce their current practices or see if any changes need to be made. That review will include use of force policies, he said.

Accreditation results will be public record but likely won't be available for a few more months, City Administrator Allan Rice said.

Brocato also said the Police Department is about to go through diversity training from a federal agency.

His administration already has made efforts to make the city’s overall workforce more diverse and address diversity and inclusion across the city.

He initiated the Leadership Hoover organization that began in 2017 and includes people from all walks of life. More than two years ago, he made the assistant human resources director, Mesha Walker, the city's diversity coordinator, charged with monitoring the city's recruitment, hiring, retention and promotion practices. The city has started actively recruiting minorities through job fairs to ensure a diverse pool of applicants and has diverse panels of employees conduct interviews, he said.

Both he and the City Council also have worked to give minorities more representation on city boards, including the Board of Education, Planning and Zoning Commission, Parks and Recreation Board, Library Board and Industrial Development Board.

'PROVEN LEADERSHIP'

Brocato said he has shown proven leadership in times of crisis, including during protests that followed Bradford’s death in 2018 and Floyd’s death in Minneapolis this year, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.

His 42 years with the Hoover Fire Department, which included stints as fire marshal, head of emergency medical services and chief of operations, taught him how to handle crises, he said. “You don’t panic. You plan,” he said.

When the governor declared a state of emergency and health orders began to shut businesses down, Brocato said administration quickly put an incident management plan in place that included help hotlines for both residents and business owners, assistance to make sure children received food they needed, and financial planning to deal with loss of city revenues.

Brocato also noted his efforts toward regional cooperation, including a “good neighbor agreement” in which numerous Jefferson County municipal leaders agreed not to recruit businesses from nearby cities.

Brocato said he meets regularly with mayors from “over-the-mountain” communities, as well as mayors in Jefferson and Shelby counties and mayors of the 10 largest cities in Alabama. With the latter group, he is pushing for changes in the way the state calculates and distributes online sales tax revenues.

Brocato, 67, has lived in Hoover since 1973, except for a few years in Irondale in the mid-1970s. He and his wife, Frances, currently live in Ross Bridge. They have three children and nine grandchildren, six of whom attend Hoover schools.

Brocato has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology from Birmingham-Southern College, an associate’s degree in fire science from Jefferson State Community College and paramedic training from the UAB School of Allied Health.

He serves on the executive committee for the Birmingham Business Alliance and is on the board of directors for the Mike Slive Foundation (for prostate cancer research).

He also has served on the board of directors for the Literacy Council of Central Alabama, was in Leadership Birmingham and Leadership Shelby County and still serves on the advisory council for Leadership Birmingham. He represented the city of Hoover with United Way for many years, served on the medical direction committee for the Birmingham Regional Emergency Medical Services System and on state committees dealing with EMS issues.

For more information about his campaign, go to frankbrocatoformayor.com or Frank Brocato for Hoover Mayor on Facebook.

Brocato faces a challenge for the mayor's seat from Hoover Council President Gene Smith.

See the complete list of candidates for Hoover mayor and Hoover City Council.