UPDATED: Hoover council, mayoral candidates qualify for election

Published 2:00 pm Tuesday, July 10, 2012

By AMY JONES / Associate Editor

HOOVER — Several Hoover residents have filed qualifying paperwork for the city’s mayoral and city council elections Aug. 28.

Incumbent Mayor Gary Ivey, a 29-year resident of the city, formally announced his intention to re-run for mayor. Ivey was appointed mayor after former mayor Tony Petelos accepted the position of Jefferson County’s first county manager in September 2011.

Ivey is also a member of the SafeHouse Board of Directors and a trustee at Church of the Highlands.

Hoover City Council Place 1 incumbent Dr. Trey Lott, will re-run for his seat on the council.

DeMarcus Hill, the owner of a charter broker company, will run for the Place 1 seat on the Hoover City Council. Hill, a 7-year resident of the city, has served as the president for Birmingham Works for Youth Alumni Program.

Place 2 incumbent Gene Smith will re-run for his seat on the council. Smith has been a resident of Hoover for more than 40 years.

Place 3 incumbent Mari Morrison will re-run for her seat on the council. Morrison has eight years of experience on the Hoover City Council; before that, she served six years on the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission.

Morrison will face competition from John Lyda, a member of the Hoover Public Library Board of Trustees. Lyda, a 16-year resident of Hoover, is the operations manager for claims administration with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama.

Incumbent Adm. John T. Natter will re-run for his Place 4 seat on the council. Natter was appointed to fill Gary Ivey’s council seat after Ivey took over from Tony Petelos in 2011. Natter is a senior partner at Natter & Fulmer P.C.

Place 5 incumbent Jack Wright, who also serves as council president, will re-run for his seat.

Incumbent Brian Skelton will re-run for the Place 6 seat on the council. Skelton has more than a decade’s experience on the Hoover City Council and is involved with several faith-based organizations.

Place 7 incumbent John Greene will re-run for his seat on the council. Greene, a 30-year-resident of the city, has been on the council for more than three years. He’s a member of several civic organizations, including the Kiwanis Club, New Horizons, Friends of Hoover, Hoover Library Board and the Regent Forest Neighborhood Association.

Newcomer Jason Cerniglia will also run for Place 7. Cerniglia, the owner of Hoover Fitness in Bluff Park, hopes to focus on helping Hoover residents improve their overall health and wellness while also supporting the growth of Hoover small businesses.

Qualifying for the Hoover municipal election ends July 17 at 5 p.m.