Photo courtesy of Gene Smith
Former Hoover City Council President Gene Smith has decided to run for the City Council again in the Aug. 26 city election.
Former Hoover City Council President Gene Smith, who lost a bid for mayor five years ago, today announced he has decided to run for a seat on the City Council again.
Smith served on the Hoover City Council for 16 years, including as president from 2016 to 2020. He ran for mayor against Frank Brocato in 2020 and lost by a vote of 9,969 to 3,147.
He said today he didn’t want to run for mayor again because the mayor’s job is a full-time job and he still has other business interests to which he must attend.
Also, he said Brocato is doing a better job now that former City Administrator Allan Rice has retired. He believes Rice was responsible for 90% of the issues that concerned him when he ran for mayor five years ago, he said.
“I believe that he [Brocato] has learned to work with this council this term better than he did the term before,” Smith said. “If he’s re-elected, I’m certainly willing to work with him.”
Smith said one of the reasons he wants to join the council again is that there seems to be a lack of continuity among council members right now. “That’s something I would like to work on to get everybody working together rather than having the disputes that seem to continue to go on.”
Another key thing Smith wants to accomplish is to honor the promises and commitments that were made to residents and businesses in the past, he said.
In particular, he knows that residents have been upset over proposals to add apartments in The Preserve and Tattersall Park, he said. The idea of apartments in Tattersall Park came up when he council president but never made it to a vote because there was too much opposition on the council, he said.
He opposes the development of apartments in those communities because it was not part of the master plans and residents were promised there wouldn’t be apartments, he said.
He also wants to work to correct stormwater drainage problems in the city, such as those near the Scout Creek community in Trace Crossings, he said. Something needs to be done to address the silt buildup in Scout Creek Lake, whether by the city or the developer of the community, he said.
Furthermore, the city must fulfill promises to landowners, such as USS Real Estate, Smith said. In 2021, the Hoover City Council approved an agreement with USS Real Estate to allow the development of 1,953 houses on 868 acres on the south side of Morgan Road frequently referred to as the Trigger Creek property in exchange for USS Real Estate donating 100 acres off Alabama 150 to the Hoover Board of Education and agreeing to delay development of houses in Trigger Creek for at least seven years.
That property has been in the city for decades, Smith said. “At some point, that’s going to be developed,” he said. “The city’s got to be able to work with whoever builds that to make sure that we have the infrastructure to be able to handle the traffic and the schools have the ability to deal with the children coming out of those areas.”
Smith said he also wants to strengthen public safety, support first responders and ensure responsible fiscal management.
Smith, 67, originally is from Georgia and moved to what is now Hoover when he was in the first grade. He graduated from Berry High School in 1975, completed his paramedic studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and served 18 years as a Hoover firefighter.
Since retiring from the city in 1993 as a fire captain, he has made his living in the installment loan business, offering loans of less than $1,500 for 90 days to 18 months. He owns finance companies with 15 locations in Alabama and Tennessee. Smith also owns a 40 percent stake in Hoover Tactical Firearms
Before joining the Hoover City Council, Smith served five years on the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission and about four years on the UAB 310 Mental Health Board. He and his wife, Pam, live in the Magnolia Grove subdivision and have three children and six grandchildren.
Smith has continued attending City Council meetings since leaving office, trying to remain engaged, and is confident he still has much to contribute, he said.
“I understand the city’s legacy and recognize the obligations we’ve made over time. It’s crucial that we honor those commitments because promises must be kept,” he said. “Should the people of Hoover choose me again, I’ll operate with confidence and work alongside the elected mayor and council members to continue making this city a place we can all be proud of."
Hoover's election for mayor and the seven City Council seats is scheduled for Aug. 26. Official qualifying takes place June 10-24. Smith said he has not yet decided which seat on the council he would pursue.
