Northport plans next steps after Mayor Bobby Herndon's resignation

The city of Northport has a plan to name a new mayor after the abrupt resignation of Bobby Herndon on Nov. 7 about midway through his term of office.

City Attorney Ron Davis said Alabama law states whoever is the Northport City Council president on Dec. 31 will assume the mayor's position.

Right now, District 5 representative Jeff Hogg serves as council president, but he has expressed no interest in becoming mayor, Davis said.

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Hogg has served as council president since November 2020, when he was the unanimous selection for that role by a vote of the council members.

The Northport City Council will hold a meeting sometime in December to decide which council member will assume the role of council president, knowing that person will become the new mayor on Jan. 1, the city attorney said.

"The council president's position is a fluid one, it does not have a (set) term," Davis said.

"(Jeff Hogg has said) he does not wish to be the mayor. And so there are some discussions going on now amongst council members (concerning) ... what would be best for Northport? Which one of them would take the council presidency and become mayor?" he said.

Here's a look at the members of the Northport City Council who could be named council president and subsequently, mayor:

• Christy Bobo, District 1 representative: Bobo was appointed to the council in September 2020  to fill the role after the previous representative, Tony Roberts, moved out of state. She was elected to a full term in August 2020. She is a senior business development specialist for finance and capital markets at Randall-Reilly.

• Woodrow Washington III, District 2 representative: Washington was elected to his first term of office in August 2020, defeating then-Council President Jay Logan by around 19 votes. He is the owner of Archibald's BBQ in Northport and Archibald & Woodrow's BBQ on Greensboro Avenue in Tuscaloosa.

• John Hinton, District 3 representative: Hinton was appointed in December 2018 to fill the seat vacated by Rodney Sullivan, who resigned after winning the election for Alabama House District 61. Hinton was elected to a full term on the Northport City Council in August 2020. He is a retired assistant superintendent of personnel and general services with the Tuscaloosa County School System and he is the minister of music at Northport Baptist Church.

• Jamie Dykes, District 4 representative: Dykes was elected to her first term after winning a runoff in October 2020. Dykes is a program assistant at the University of Alabama and has previously worked as a teacher.

Davis reiterated that Herndon will continue to fulfill his duties as mayor through the end of this year.

"Mayor Herndon resigned effectively at the end of December. So he will remain the mayor the rest of November, all of December and on Jan. 1, the council president will be the new mayor," Davis said.

Herndon served two terms as Northport's mayor from 2008-16. He was defeated in his bid for reelection in 2016, but he earned his third term as mayor after winning a runoff in October 2020.

On Nov. 7, Herndon surprised council and members of the community by announcing his resignation during a City Council meeting.

The announcement came after the council declined Herndon's request to rename a portion of 28th Street as Benevolent Way. Herndon requested the name change in recognition of Northport residents who have contributed in helping cities that face natural disasters.

Davis said the Northport City Council's new policy only allows streets to be renamed for individuals or a specific organization and that Benevolent Way did not fit that criteria.

In a video posted to the city of Northport Facebook page, Herndon said he felt unsupported by the council and announced his resignation, effective Dec. 31.

"I said when I first got sworn in, in 2008, that if I ever felt like I wasn't doing my job, that I would resign," Herndon said. "Having said that, effective Dec. 31, I will no longer be mayor of Northport."

The council voted 3-2 to accept Herndon's resignation.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Northport plans next steps after Mayor Bobby Herndon's resignation