Ward 3’s Nick Sims running for City Council Ward 3, Place 1

Ward 3’s Nick Sims announced he is running in this year’s election for Homewood City Council in Ward 3, Place 1.

Sims, 42, works in a management role at United Way of Central Alabama, a nonprofit organization serving Jefferson and surrounding counties. This will be Sims' first run for municipal office, and he said he's been involved with policy work throughout his career.

If elected, Sims will support efforts to promote inclusion in the city, he said. These efforts will include increased access to quality, affordable housing; increased access to first-class pre-K; and training city staff, committee members and elected officials on concepts such as implicit bias in order to strive for equity in decisions and policy making.

 “To be an inclusive Homewood, we need to focus on shaping our formal and informal policies and practices to better serve individuals who are sometimes marginalized in our community,” he said.

Next, Sims said he wants to build a transparent government. The decision-making process should be known, consistent and available to the public, he said. 

His platform also cites his desire to build community. A key to this will be supporting local brick-and-mortar businesses, he said. 

“I believe that redevelopment needs to be respective of the main street and village-style commercial that already makes our communities walkable, not only by having pedestrian facilities, but by also creating destinations where people want to be,” he said. “To connect our front doors to destinations such as schools, shops and civic areas, we need to continue to create additional pedestrian and bicycle facilities as part of an multimodal and equitable transportation system.”

Sims has six years of experience working as a city planner for the Jefferson County Commission and the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham. In this role, he worked on plans and policies that encouraged the development of livable, walkable communities. He was part of several projects that obtained grant funding for construction of new sidewalks and pedestrian facilities throughout Jefferson County. 

He and his wife are also both actively involved with the Sidewalk Film Festival, and Sims has coached youth sports for his 13-year-old son. The Simses also have an almost-3-year-old son.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of South Alabama and a master’s in public administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Visit his website at simsforward3.com for more information.

The election for Homewood mayor and City Council seats is Aug. 25. Qualifying starts July 7 and goes through July 21.

If you are running in this year's election for mayor or for a seat on City Council, please email ischnader@starnespublishing.com to be featured in our upcoming election guide.