John Lyda seeks third term in Hoover City Council Place 3, cites conservative record

John Lyda is seeking a third term in Hoover City Council Place 3 and said he hopes to continue to be “one of the top conservative voices on that council.”

Lyda today said he’s proud of some of the things the current City Council has been able to accomplish in the past four years and disappointed in other decisions the council has made.

He’s particularly proud of the council’s decision in January to approve $3.5 million worth of sales tax rebates to expand and redevelop the Bluff Park Village shopping center.

That tax deal, coupled with a $9.5 million investment by the owners of Bluff Park Village and the Bluff Park Piggy Wiggly, includes the relocation of Piggy Wiggly from Shades Mountain Plaza to a larger new building in Bluff Park Village and remodeling of the existing Bluff Park Village.

Lyda said it’s one of the best redevelopment projects the city has seen in a long time, and he looks forward to the impact it will have on the Bluff Park community.

He’s also pleased to see the Hoover Metropolitan Complex come into full operation and surpass expectations prior to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Lyda said he’s still disappointed in the July 2018 decision by the council to approve three tax increases to pull in about $11 million in new revenue. The council voted 4-3 to raise the sales and use tax rate from 3% to 3.5%, raise a lease tax from 3% to 3.5% and implement a new $2 nightly room rental fee for lodging facilities.

Lyda voted against all three increases, saying the city needed to focus more on cutting expenses, and said he hopes to get more conservative voices on the council so those tax increases can be reconsidered.

“Government will always grow to the size taxpayers are willing to fund it,” he said.

The mayor and a majority of the council argued the new revenue was needed for the city to keep up with inflationary expenses, pay for basic capital projects and to cover salary increases to maintain the city of Hoover as the “employer of choice” in the metro area. Lyda said the better option was to maintain previous pay levels and for the city to cut costs and live within its means.

Lyda said he’s proud the council was at least able to defeat the mayor’s original proposal to raise sales and use taxes to 4%. That plan was designed to fund new initiatives, including $20 million to help UAB’s Medical West hospital relocate from Bessemer to Hoover, a $4 million-per-year increase in the city’s allocation to Hoover City Schools, the city’s portion of funding for a new Interstate 459 interchange, a performing arts center and a library branch in eastern Hoover.

That would have been a “financial disaster” for the city of Hoover, Lyda said. Also, the plan to lure Medical West from Bessemer was an example of the type of “poaching” from neighboring cities that should be avoided, he said. The city has since entered into an agreement with neighboring cities not to be involved in poaching deals.

'PRO-BUSINESS VOICE'

Lyda said one of his goals is to continue to be a pro-business voice on the council, to get government out of the way and allow businesses to succeed. He wants Hoover to be more business-friendly, he said. One of the best ways to accomplish that is to have a low-tax environment, he said.

Another goal for the next four years is to work with the owner of the Riverchase Galleria, Brookfield Properties, to come up with a plan for redevelopment of the mall.

The COVID-19 crisis and shootings at the mall in recent years have made it clear that the Galleria is battling a serious negative image, and Brookfield Properties has to come up with a plan to improve that image, Lyda said.

The mayor’s office has been talking with the Galleria owner about that issue for years, but the plan needs to come forward sooner rather than later, Lyda said.

What was once a diamond in Hoover and on the retail stage in the Southeast now has a question mark on its future, he said.

The city obviously has a vested interest in the mall’s success and has tax tools it can use to foster redevelopment, but there needs to be collaboration to figure out a win-win for everyone involved, Lyda said.

Regarding recent requests for the city to undergo transformative change to promote equity and inclusion for people of color, Lyda said most of the requests that have been made of the city fall under the mayor’s duties. As for the council, he is 100% against “defunding” the Police Department and pulling resources away from police to other areas.

Public safety has long been a priority in Hoover and should continue to be, he said. “If you don’t have a safe city, nothing else matters.”

24 YEARS IN HOOVER

Lyda, 46, is originally from Flat Rock in northeast Alabama and has lived in Hoover 24 years and now resides in the Green Valley community. He and his wife, Beth, have two children.

Lyda has worked for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama for 23 years and is now an operations manager in claims administration. Before that, he was a senior financial services manager for the Birmingham branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta from 1996 to 1997.

He has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Alabama and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Lyda is on the executive committee of the Jefferson County Republican Party and the board of directors for the Mid-Alabama Republican Club.

He also serves on the board of the Red Elephant Club of Birmingham and advisory board of the Assistance League of Birmingham, spent four years on the Hoover Library Board, and is past president of the Hoover Metro Kiwanis Club and Hats & Horns Societe.

Lyda was in the Birmingham Business Journal’s 2012 class of “Top 40 Under 40” and in 2015 was Alumnus of the Year from Northeast Alabama Community College.

He is an alumnus and supporter of the American Council of Young Political Leaders. He participated in a diplomatic exchange program to Brazil in 2014 and escorted a group of political leaders to New Zealand in 2018. He also has hosted delegations from China, Myanmar, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia here in Alabama.

To see more about Lyda, go to electjohnlyda.com, John Lyda on Facebook or @johnlyda on Twitter.

Hoover's election is Aug. 25. Qualifying begins today (July 7) and goes through July 21.

This article was updated at 1:39 p.m. to correct the name of the company that owns the Riverchase Galleria. It is Brookfield Properties.