Photo courtesy of Robin Schultz
Robin Schultz
Bluff Park resident Robin Schultz for the third time is seeking election to the Hoover City Council in the Aug. 26 city election this year.
Schultz lost to Councilman John Greene for Council Place 7 in 2016 and came in second in a five-person race for Place 2 (won by Sam Swiney) in 2020. Schultz hasn’t said which council seat he will pursue this year because not all council members have announced if they are running for re-election.
Schultz, 62, said he’s running for City Council because he wants to create a more transparent and accountable city government.
“With a deep passion for Hoover and its residents, I believe it’s time to amplify the voices of our community in city government,” Schultz said in a written statement. “My campaign is rooted in ensuring transparent decision-making, fostering economic growth and maintaining the high quality of life that makes Hoover such a great place to live and work.”
Specifically, Schultz said he wants to restore the minutes of city meetings to contain more detail of things said in the meetings. Since August 2022, the minutes provided by the city clerk have been a much abbreviated version of what they were before that time, and he thinks it’s important that the minutes be more detailed to provide more context about decisions and the input given from residents about various civic matters.
Schultz said he also would like to see better communication between the mayor, council president and other council members. Council members should not be surprised with last-minute additions to the agenda, instead having plenty of time to evaluate proposals before being asked to vote on them, he said.
In recent years, the full City Council has not been kept apprised of important city matters, with too much information being held by the mayor and City Council president, he said. “We need to bring it back to the people’s council, not the president’s and the mayor’s council.”
Schultz said he also wants to prioritize fiscal responsibility, increased access to city officials and sustainable development to meet the city’s growing needs. He also wants to make sure proper infrastructure, such as roads, are in place prior to development to better manage traffic because traffic impacts people’s quality of life, he said.
He also wants the city to help out more to cover the cost of parks and recreation amenities so that individuals aren’t overburdened with fees to participate in recreational activities, he said. In recent years, he has seen youth baseball registration from $135 to $210 per child, he said. He understands that some costs have to be passed along to participants, but it shouldn’t be unaffordable, he said.
Schultz has been active in the community for many years. In 2006, Schultz founded a website called bluffparkal.org to share information about and for the Bluff Park community.
He helped lead the push for a police substation and better police presence in Bluff Park and helped organize neighborhood watches with Hoover police. He also was a leader in the effort to reverse the Hoover school board’s 2013 decision to eliminate school bus service for most students.
Schultz unsuccessfully sought a seat on the Hoover school board in 2012, 2016, 2017 and 2021. He served on the board of directors for the Hoover City Schools Foundation from late 2016 to August 2019. He was a youth baseball umpire at Hoover Sports Park West from 1997 to 2007 and has coached youth flag football the past six years.
He teaches the college and career Sunday school class at Shades Crest Baptist Church and is on the safety team at the church. He also founded an organization called Learning To Be The Light, which refurbishes used computers and gives them to Hoover students from low-income families.
Schultz also has volunteered to help with the Hoover High School Business Academy, Girls Engaged in Math & Science and Hoover Small Business Alliance.
In 2023, Schultz created a website, YouTube channel and Facebook page called The Hoover Channel to share videos of public meetings after the city of Hoover in 2022 removed at least five years’ worth of Hoover City Council and zoning board meetings from the city’s YouTube channel and stopped livestreaming and recording the general public comment portion of each council meeting. The council rescinded those actions in August 2024.
Professionally, Schultz owns and runs PC Medics of Alabama and Bluff Park Drone, an aerial videography and photography company.
He has Microsoft systems engineer certification from New Horizons, has taken numerous information technology certification courses and is licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration to fly a drone. He and his wife, Mary Beth, have three children who went through Hoover City Schools and graduated from Hoover High. They now have six grandchildren, including one at Trace Crossings Elementary School and one at Hoover High.
Hoover's election for mayor and the seven City Council seats is scheduled for Aug. 26. Official qualifying takes place June 10-24.
Find out more about Schultz at robinforhoover.com or look for him at Robin for Hoover on Facebook and @robinforhoover on Twitter and Instagram.
