Brian DeMarco seeks election to Vestavia Hills City Council Place 3

August 19, 2025

12:59 AM

Photo courtesy of Brian DeMarco

Brian DeMarco is a candidate for Vestavia Hills City Council Place 3.

Brian DeMarco has lived in Vestavia Hills his entire 45 years of life, and he’s running for Place 3 on the City Council to make the city a place his children will want to stay, too.

DeMarco, a licensed attorney who has worked in corporate communications for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama for 23 years, said he loves Vestavia Hills and wants to make sure it continues to thrive, develop and grow in a positive fashion.

One of the things that made him start thinking about running for City Council was seeing the need for infrastructure improvements such as more sidewalks around the city.

Columbiana Road, in particular, has kids walking along it to and from school just feet off the road without sidewalks, he said. There once was a tunnel underneath the road for children to cross safely, but it has been filled in, he said.

There are other places in need of sidewalks, too, DeMarco said. He knows the city has a plan to add sidewalks in various places, and it’s a good plan, but he would like to speed up the pace of getting those needs addressed, he said.

There are grants to help cities pay for sidewalks, and he wants to make sure Vestavia Hills is taking full advantage of all opportunities, he said. He also wants to make sure the city is partnering with other governmental entities, such as county or state governments, to tackle those needs, prioritizing areas where there are safety issues at stake, he said.

He, for one, thinks the new pedestrian bridge being installed over U.S. 31 is fantastic and will greatly improve safety for people crossing the busy highway, he said.

“I want to connect our community through sidewalks,” DeMarco said.

He also agrees with the city’s plan to gradually repave roads in the city over time, he said. The 2026 budget that was just proposed by City Manager Jeff Downes includes 9 miles of road repaving.

“Making sure our infrastructure is sound is a key point in my platform,” DeMarco said.

Another strong desire he has is for the city to build a world-class performing arts center, he said. Vestavia Hills has a fantastic sports program and the best parks and recreation facilities of any city he’s ever seen, he said.

While he has coached sports in Vestavia Hills for 15 years, he would love to see something for kids who aren’t into sports — those with interests in the arts and theater, he said. He would like for Vestavia Hills to have a facility that both provides for its own children and serves as a revenue generator by bringing in artistic events that bring in visitors from other places, too, he said.

The Vestavia Hills Arts Council has a 10-year plan to make an arts center happen, but he would like to see if the city could get something built sooner than that, he said. It more than likely will take private funding with some type of partnership with the city, he said.

Stormwater flooding is another big issue in his opinion.

“It’s a big issue for everybody,” he said. “I’ve gotten video after video of people’s yards flooding.”

He understands that there are limitations as to what the city can do on private property, but there are many cases where people are having their yards flooded through no fault of their own, he said.

In some cases, there are public rights of way and drainage ways that are stopped up and need cleaning out on a more regular basis, he said.

The tunnel underneath U.S. 31 through which Patton Creek flows had 3 feet of mud and dirt stopping it up until the Alabama Department of Transportation cleaned it out recently, he said.

He believes the city can take more proactive steps to make sure drainage ways are cleaned out more regularly, whether by the city, ALDOT or some other entity, he said.

DeMarco also said he wants to make sure the City Council does its due diligence in vetting people when making appointments to various city boards because those boards are very important.

DeMarco is one of three candidates seeking Vestavia Hills City Council Place 3. The others are Jacob Pugh and Michael Vercher. DeMarco said he has met both of the other candidates and they both seem like great guys.

“I think whatever the voters choose on the 26^th, I think the city’s going to be in good shape one way or the other,” he said. “They have been nothing but kind to me, and I’m glad that we have not had any kind of a negative campaign in Place 3.”

DeMarco said he has no motive for running for office other than serving the city.

“I have zero aspirations of a political career other than a city councilman. This is not helping me in my career at all. It’s not furthering that,” he said. “I have zero allegiance to any builders or developers. My allegiance is to the residents.

“Being a lifelong resident here, I know the history and the pride that Vestavia has,” DeMarco said. “I know how special of a place this could be, and I just think I have the desire to work hard to make sure that we continue keeping Vestavia a great city where families want to relocate to, where kids want to continue to stay after high school and raise their families. I just think that my passion for that is what makes me the best choice. I have a solid plan of what I want to do — within reason of what I’m able to do. I’ve identified several areas that the City Council can affect, and I want to make sure that we start working on those on day one.”