2025 Voter Guide: Ask the Candidate
Homewood voters will choose their next mayor and city council on Aug. 26. Candidates Tiffany McIntyre and Paul Simmons are running to represent Ward 1.
The candidates shared why they're running with The Homewood Star.
Q: How do you plan to improve communication between city leadership and residents?
Tiffany McIntyre: I'll use Jennifer Andress as an example. She does a newsletter in her ward, and I've had several people talk to me about that. So that is something I plan on implementing in my ward, is having a monthly newsletter just to keep people up to date on some different events that we have going on that may be coming up, or some things that are going on up at city hall that people want to think about and contact me about or weigh in on. I just want to try to be more approachable to people and just more available to them. I think the best way to do that is just to keep people more engaged and involved with the newsletter. Because not everybody's going to sit and watch the minutes and all that stuff from the city council meetings. I think the best way to do it is just give them a quick little overview and a newsletter, and then just encourage them to reach out to me with any questions they have..
Paul Simmons: We’re fortunate to have several avenues for communication. Ironically, when I announced my candidacy on my personal social media page—before even launching a campaign page—I immediately began receiving messages from people in the community. That experience reaffirmed how vital social media is in today’s world. As part of my communication strategy, I plan to use every tool available—Facebook, Instagram, and more — because that’s where people are. I also recognize that the city already shares some information on its website, but I believe that can be improved. One of my key priorities is ensuring that communication from the city is clearer, more consistent, and more informative so residents truly understand what’s happening in our community. Even now, during the campaign, people are asking me: “How are you going to keep us informed?” I’ve made a commitment to do just that—through any means necessary. Whether that’s social media, direct outreach, or pointing people to a city website that actually works for them, my goal is simple: to keep the people of our community well-informed and engaged.
Read McIntyre's full Q&A, click here. See Simmons' full Q&A here.
