Reed challenges Shaw for Hoover City Council Place 4

Nathan Reed has served on the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission for the past three years, which he said has given him a chance to see some of the inner workings of city government.

Now he’s ready to take a deeper dive and is seeking election to Place 4 on the Hoover City Council. He’ll go up against Councilman Mike Shaw in the Aug. 25 city election.

Reed, a 49-year-old resident of the Russet Woods community, said he thinks the council could use a little bit more leadership and someone who thinks about things more from the perspective of everyday residents.

He wants to continue strong support for Hoover City Schools and to work to stabilize city finances in light of the COVID-19 impact and the downturn in the big-box retail industry.

Reed said he would continue the city’s push to get a fairer share of online sales tax revenues paid to the state and work with the city’s economic development department to create opportunities for additional businesses to come to Hoover.

In particular, as more big-box retailers close their doors, Reed said he would push to try to fill those spots with small and local businesses. Hoover has great potential to expand its restaurant offerings, he said.

PUBLIC SAFETY AND TAXES

Reed also wants to maintain proper funding for public safety, sidewalks and other quality-of-life amenities, he said.

Some people in the community have called for “defunding” the Hoover Police Department or reallocating some of its resources toward other social services. Reed said he supports the Police Department but thinks the city could be more transparent about where the money given to the Police Department goes.

Something also needs to be done to create better dialogue between the Police Department and residents, he said. He proposes the formation of a small group of residents who can, over the course of 10 to 12 months, be given a behind-the-scenes look into the department.

There also may need to be some sensitivity training for police, Reed said. As for other social programs people say they want funded, Reed said some of those needs might can be met from within the Police Department and some may need to be addressed outside of the department.

Regardless, he wants to make sure officers are well equipped and well funded, he said.

Reed said he supports the sales, use and lease tax increases and $2-per-night lodging fees that were passed by the current City Council two years ago because the city’s chief financial officer had identified shortfalls in the budget that would occur if such tax increases were not passed. “We were going to be in a hard place,” he said.

Those tax increases also helped support pay raises for city employees that city officials said were needed to keep Hoover an “employer of choice” and attracting top candidates. Certainly there needs to be financial accountability, but without those increases, the city could be facing layoffs now, Reed said.

Hoover has made some strides toward being a more diverse and inclusive city, but more steps need to be taken, Reed said. This includes making sure there is enough diversity on city boards and in the city’s workforce and making sure minority and female-owned businesses have an opportunity to bid on services and projects, he said.

BIO

Reed lived in Bessemer or Birmingham most of his life and moved to Hoover eight years ago. He also spent two years in Midland, Texas, while managing a construction project there.

He graduated from Ramsay High School in Birmingham in 1988 and spent time at Lawson State Community College and the University of Alabama before returning to the Birmingham area to help with his family’s business, A.J. Chandler Masonry for about four years.

He then worked eight years as a project manager and estimator for Brasfield & Gorrie, about five years as president and CEO of NaReed Construction Group and director of facilities for The Worship Center Christian Church and about 1½ years as a senior account manger for KMS. In June 2016, he moved to CB Richard Ellis, where he is a strategic sourcing manager focusing on supplier diversity.

In 1996, he was named the Contractor of the Year by the Birmingham Construction Industry Authority, and in 2000, he was selected to serve on that group’s board of directors.

Reed also was on the executive chairman’s fundraising team for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society from 2016-19 and was the TEAM Hospitality Committee Chairman for the PapaJohns.com Bowl, MEAC/SWAC Football Challenges, SWAC Football Championships and SWAC Basketball Championships.

He also was named to the first class of Leadership Hoover in the fall of 2017. Reed unsuccessfully ran for Alabama House District 19 in 2010 and 2012.

Reed and his wife, Nicole, have a blended family that includes an adult daughter, a 14-year-old son who just finished Prince of Peace Catholic School and a 10-year-old son who will be a fifth grader at Brock’s Gap Intermediate School this year.

For more information about Reed, go to Nathan J. Reed for Hoover City Council Place 4 on Facebook.

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