Shaw seeks reelection to Hoover City Council Place 4

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Hoover Councilman Mike Shaw said he is proud of many of the things he and his colleagues on the council have accomplished in the past four years, but there is more work to be done.

So he’s asking voters to return him to Hoover City Council Place 4 for another four years. Shaw faces a challenge from Nathan Reed in the Aug. 25 city election.

Shaw, who has spent 25 years in the information technology business, said Hoover has a lot of potential for economic growth in the technology sector.

He founded the Hoover Technology Roundtable, a group designed to build connections between business people in the tech world and foster growth in their industry in the city.

That group was a catalyst for a new business incubator that launched at The Offices at 3000 Riverchase at the Riverchase Galleria this year, Shaw said. He doesn’t take credit for the incubator but is proud to have been a part in its creation.

Shaw also is a co-founder of a group called Destination Hoover International, a nonprofit formed in 2018 to build partnerships and strengthen ties with communities around the globe.

With a diverse population, Hoover already is an international city, but there is great potential to develop that status even more and attract more international companies, whether that be headquarters or smaller companies that feed into bigger companies, Shaw said.

“Hoover represents the American dream,” he said. “It is a very welcoming place — always making room for one more. That’s why my family is here.”

Shaw said he also is proud to have led the city’s efforts to create reasonable regulations for “small cell” towers. The city will benefit greatly from that as that technology expands and cell service improves, he said.

BIG-CITY MINDSET

Shaw said he wants to continue being a part of moving Hoover into more of a big-city mindset when it comes to planning. Current city leaders have inherited a really great and growing city, and the development in western and southwest Hoover is going to continue, he said.

He wants to help manage that growth and help the city deal with its growing pains, such as traffic, he said.

In the central part of the city, the goal is revitalization, Shaw said.

“We’re past quick fixes at the Galleria,” he said. “I don’t think we’re going to have any kind of rebranding.”

The owners of the mall are going to have to do something more robust to overcome a damaged reputation from shootings there in recent years, Shaw said.

In eastern Hoover, city leaders must find ways to provide the amenities that residents there seek, such as a library branch, municipal annex or ballfields, he said. Traffic issues also need addressing on the eastern side of town, even if it’s a short-term fix of a new or extended turn lane at Veterans Park until Valleydale Road can be widened, Shaw said.

City leaders also have to be prepared to deal with the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak for more than just a short while, he said. Some leaders seem to think the financial toll on the city won’t be as bad as they once feared, but they must keep preparing for the worst-case scenario, Shaw said.

Just when people think they know what’s going to happen with the new coronavirus, something else happens to change the picture, he said. The federal government’s stimulus plan has delayed the full financial impact on businesses, so that remains to be seen, he said.

TAXES AND DIVERSITY

Shaw voted against sales, use and lease tax increases that the council passed in 2018, as well as a $2 nightly room fee for lodging facilities in the city. Some candidates are calling for the City Council to revisit and possibly reverse those tax increases. Shaw said he would be more inclined to remove the $2 nightly room fee because of how hard the travel industry has been hit by COVID-19.

In his heart, he agrees that the sales, use and lease tax increases should be reversed, but his brain is telling him city leaders need to crunch the numbers first and make sure they are willing to make whatever expenditure cuts would have to go along with that, he said.

Following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May, some Hoover residents are joining efforts to defund police departments across the nation and reallocate some of those resources to other social services.

“I support our police 100%, and I think we have one of the best departments in the nation,” Shaw said. “I don’t see any reason to change the way we fund with them. I think they already do a lot with limited resources.”

Regarding diversity and inclusion in city government, Shaw said there is always room for improvement, but he thinks city officials already are taking steps toward that end with minority recruitment and retention efforts.

There is a certain segment of the population who see police in a negative light worldwide, and they are making false assumptions about the Hoover Police Department, Shaw said.

“The vast majority of the public thinks our Police Department is doing a great job,” he said.

City leaders should avoid making drastic changes for a small group of people, Shaw said.

BACKGROUND

Shaw, 48, graduated from Vestavia Hills High School in 1990 and obtained a bachelor’s degree in public administration from Auburn University in 1995. He and wife, Shelley, moved to Hoover about 20 years ago and live in the Loch Ridge community. They have a daughter who is a senior at Auburn University and a son going into the 10th grade at Spain Park High School.

For the past 15 years, Shaw has been the chief technology officer and senior vice president for Mutual Savings Credit Union.

He is a member of the technology advisory group for the Riverchase Career Connection Center, a board member for Tech Birmingham and a former longtime board member for Birmingham Infragard.

He is a member of Shades Mountain Baptist Church, where he is active in the music ministry, and he is a member of the Spain Park High School Band Boosters.

He represents the Hoover City Council on the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission, is chairman of the Technology and Telecom Committee and chairman of the Sports Facility Advisory Committee.

For more information about Shaw’s campaign, go to electmikeshaw.com or find him on Twitter at @mikeshawnuff.

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