Bluff Park's Sam Swiney to seek Place 2 seat on Hoover City Council 2nd time

Bluff Park resident Sam Swiney this week announced that he will seek Place 2 on the Hoover City Council for the second time.

Swiney tried to unseat Hoover Councilman Gene Smith in 2016 but lost that race by just 24 votes out of more than 12,000 votes cast.

This time, Smith is running for mayor, so the Place 2 seat on the council is open. Other candidates seeking the post are Ron Brown, Mitzi Eaker, Robin Schultz and Dina Shunnarah.

Swiney said that when he ran four years ago, some of his primary goals were to increase funding for Hoover City Schools, create a master plan for the city and ensure transparency in city government. While significant progress has been made in each of those areas, there is still much work to be done, he said.

He wants to work with the school system to make sure it maintains adequate funding and the excellent education that it now provides students, he said. He also wants to continue to update the master plan. “I think that’s an ever-changing document,” he said.

Protecting the integrity of Hoover’s older neighborhoods also is important, Swiney said. He wants to help make sure infrastructure is upgraded and amenities are provided to make older neighborhoods more like some of the newer ones. For example, adding sidewalks is important, he said.

Other goals he has are to give Hoover a performing arts center and a library branch for the eastern side of town and to do a better job of promoting locally owned businesses and recruit more new ones.

Swiney, 37, has been a claims specialist with State Farm Insurance for 13 years. He grew up in Hueytown and received a bachelor’s degree in justice sciences from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2006. After he married his wife, Nicole, they moved to Oak Grove and then to Hoover seven years ago, he said. They have three boys, ages 9, 7 and 1.

Swiney from 2017 to 2019 served on an Advocacy Committee for Hoover City Schools, encouraging state legislators to promote legislation he believes would benefit the school system.

He also has been a leader in the Hoover City Dad Brigade, leading back-to-school cleanup teams at Buff Park Elementary and Simmons Middle School. He co-founded the Bluff Park Christmas Parade and Trucks on the Bluff, a periodic food truck event in Bluff Park.

Swiney this past year was vice president for the Shades Mountain Park board and will become president on July 1. Over the past several years, he has coached youth baseball, basketball and football. He attends Shades Mountain Baptist Church, where he has volunteered as a worship care leader.

Hoover’s election for mayor and the seven City Council seats is set for Aug. 25.

For more information about Swiney, visit his campaign Facebook page or follow him on Twitter @SamSwiney1.

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