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Photos by Jon Anderson.
The Hoover City Council selected Khristi Driver, a 47-year-old attorney from The Preserve community, to replace Mike Shaw on the council.
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Photo by Jon Anderson.
Jefferson County Circuit Judge Reginald Jeter swears in Khristi Driver as a new member of the Hoover City Council at Hoover City Hall on Nov. 21.
Hoover’s newly appointed City Council member, Khristi Driver, said some of her most important priorities are community redevelopment, making the city more attractive to young people and making a city performing arts center a reality.
The Hoover City Council on Nov. 21 chose Driver, a 47-year-old attorney from The Preserve community, to replace Mike Shaw on the council.
Shaw was elected to represent Alabama House District 47 in the state Legislature on Nov. 8 and had to resign his post on the City Council immediately.
In accordance with state law, it was the Hoover City Council’s responsibility to appoint a new member, and the council voted 6-0 in favor of Driver. Driver is the first woman on the Hoover City Council since Mari Morrison, also an attorney, lost her seat to John Lyda 10 years ago.
Driver, when asked about her priorities as a council member, said she’s only one person but does have some things she would like to see happen in the city.
Driver, who has served as president of the new Downtown Redevelopment Authority since it was created last year, said there are certain areas of the city that could really benefit from redevelopment, such as Lorna Road and U.S. 31 in the Green Valley area. Bluff Park and Meadow Brook could use some redevelopment, too, but to a lesser extent, she said.
Also, while different parts of Hoover have different styles and purposes, it could be helpful to have some architectural guidelines that help give Hoover communities a more cohesive look, Driver said.
Second, Driver said she would love to see Hoover become a more attractive place for young people, so they’ll want to live and work in the city when they finish their education.
There are some projects already in the works, such as the Village Green amphitheater and entertainment district at Stadium Trace Village, that should help in that effort, but Hoover needs more things like that, Driver said.
“What is there for young people to do in Hoover?” she said. “Right now, they can go to a movie, and they can go to eat or they can go sit in a parking lot somewhere.”
It would be nice to have more entertainment options, such as the former Galleria Fun Country complex, which decades ago offered a go-cart track, carpet golf and batting cages at its location on Alabama 150, she said. “It was a really fun, cool place for teenagers,” she said. “A safe thing for them to do.”
Third, Driver said she would love to see the idea for a citywide performing arts center become a reality and be executed in a responsible way.
“That helps build community and provides an opportunity for us to bring in entertainment, music and other performing arts,” she said. “Both of my children are musicians, so this is something that’s near and dear to my heart.”
Taxes and debt
When asked how she feels about taxes, Driver said she doesn’t like paying them but knows they are necessary. She’s not prepared to say she would never support new taxes or an increase in an existing tax, she said.
“There are a lot of factors that go into thinking through those kinds of decisions,” she said. If additional taxes are ever needed, “we have to make sure that’s done in a prudent way and in the right time,” she said.
On the flip side, there may be some taxes that should be lowered at times, she said. A lot of people are challenged with current economic conditions, and some people are calling for some relief from grocery taxes, she said. She would want to examine that idea more closely before making such a decision, she said.
Hoover officials also in recent months have been talking about possibly going back to the bond market to borrow additional money. Driver said she’s not opposed to debt when it’s done in a responsible way and with a strategy in place that’s good for the bottom line of the city and could pay for itself over the long term. She would have to study any such proposal before coming to a conclusion, she said.
With schools playing such a big role in the Hoover community, Driver also was asked what her criteria would be for choosing school board members.
She said she would look for people who are thoughtful and listen to a variety of perspectives before making decisions and who are willing to be creative and compromise on issues when necessary to achieve the greater good.
She would look for people who are willing to ask hard questions and challenge proposals brought before them to make sure the ideas will help achieve desired results, she said. As a council member, she won’t try to dictate results on particular issues but instead would look for people who have good, analytical minds to make the best decisions as they come up, she said.
LEGAL, CORPORATE EXPERIENCE
Lyda, who is now president of the council, said Driver brings a wealth of legal and corporate executive experience to the body.
“Her business acumen is unparalleled in the community, which will really help the city as we continue to grow strategically and diversify revenues,” Lyda said. “Her years of service in the community speak for themselves, and she’s always served in leadership positions in those different organizations, so she’s going to be a very good addition.”
Driver has been an associate general counsel for Southern Nuclear since 2018. She also has served as the company’s compliance and concerns director and chief of staff to the Southern Co. general counsel.
From 2011 to 2014, she was an attorney or managing attorney for Southern Company Services. Prior to joining Southern Co. in 2011, she was an equity partner at the law firm of Haskell Slaughter Young & Rediker, practicing civil defense litigation.
In addition to serving as president of the Hoover Downtown Redevelopment Authority, Driver also serves on the board of directors of Leadership Hoover, Collaborative Solutions (a group that focuses on fair housing access) and Page Turners Make Great Learners (a group focusing on literacy).
Driver formerly served as president of the Hoover City Schools Foundation and is a past board member for the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce and Birmingham Bar Foundation and past executive committee member for the Birmingham Bar Association.
She has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Alabama and a law degree from Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law.
Driver has lived in Hoover for 17 years and has two children: Steven, a 17-year-old senior at Hoover High School, and Sophia, a 13-year-old seventh grader at the Alabama School of Fine Arts.
Councilman Steve McClinton said Driver is well respected among her peers and her professional abilities will come in handy with the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission, to which she also was appointed. Also, “everyone wanted to have a female [on the council],” McClinton said.
Lyda said it’s certainly important to have representation of all groups on the council.
“We’ve always been mindful of that, not only in council appointments, but any board appointments,” Lyda said. “Certainly when we found a highly qualified individual who happened to be a female, that certainly played a part.”
Driver said she’s excited to be a representative for women in the city. “It’s nice to be one of the guys, and I do consider myself that way, but I think it’s nice to bring a different perspective,” she said.
She said it’s a big honor to be chosen to serve on the council and have the support of the mayor and his staff, as well as have an opportunity to earn the trust of more residents in the city.
Driver said she decided to apply for the council seat because she’s not getting any younger.
“I’ve reached that point in my career where I’ve really started to think about what my legacy will be and what I would like for people to say about me one day when I’m gone, and service is one of those things that matters a lot to me and my family,” she said. “To have this kind of an opportunity present itself really is just the kind of thing that doesn’t come along more than once, so it just felt like the right time.”
Driver said she has seen this City Council and mayoral administration work well together to accomplish things. “I’d like to be a part of the continued momentum and hopefully bring new perspectives to the council based on my background and experience that might be different than the way that others have seen things in the past or viewed things in the past.”
