Photo by Jon Anderson
Michael Vercher, a candidate for Vestavia Hills City Council Place 3, talks with a voter outside the polling site at Vestavia Hills Methodist Church on municipal election day — Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025.
Michael Vercher came away with the win in Tuesday’s election runoff for Vestavia Hills City Council Place 3.
With all six polling places reporting results, Vercher captured 2,006 votes (56% of the total) in the race, while Brian DeMarco picked up 1,586 votes (44%).
Vercher will be filling the seat being vacated by Paul Head when the new City Council is sworn into office on Nov. 3.
Vercher, 51, has been an attorney for the Christian & Small law firm for more than 25 years and is the immediate past chairman of Vestavia Hills Planning and Zoning Commission. He has lived in Vestavia Hills 15 years and is a Leadership Vestavia Hills graduate. This was his first run for public office.
“That was a hard-fought campaign,” Vercher said. “I’m so pleased that the citizens of Vestavia Hills have entrusted me with a very important position. I’m going to serve all the residents no matter whether they voted for me or not. I just look forward to being able to roll up my sleeves and be able to work with an excellent mayor and City Council that’s already in place to keep Vestavia moving forward in the right direction.”
When asked what gave him the edge in the election runoff, Vercher said he believes people understood that he brings a lot of experience to the position, including both his professional experience and his time working in city government with the Planning and Zoning Commission.
He knows how to get things done in the appropriate way when you’re dealing with a lot of different voices and interests. “You have to collaborate. You’ve got to build a consensus around the right direction to move when you’re talking about representing a city,” he said.
Vercher said he’s excited about the opportunity to create a unified Vestavia Hills that stands out because of its uniqueness.
There are a lot of different parts of the city — from Cahaba Heights to Liberty Park and the U.S. 31 section of Vestavia Hills, and he wants to help unify those areas with the goal of making Vestavia the premier place to live, work and play in the Birmingham metro area.
He’s also excited about the possibilities for redeveloping and beautifying the area along U.S. 31 where it meets Interstate 65.
Working with a developer to bring in a new businesses on the former site of the Days Inn and adjacent properties gives the city an opportunity to increase its ability to bring in revenue through sales taxes and bring in more revenue for schools without having to raise property taxes, he said.
“That’s a really prime location, and I think we can really use it in a way that’s going to benefit all of Vestavia,” he said.
Vercher also said he supports the nearly $1.2 million project to install new gateway signage and landscaping in that area. It’s more than just a sign and includes new landscaping and drainage improvements, he said.
“It’s more about making that a very appealing differentiation between Vestavia and surrounding communities,” he said.
DeMarco on Tuesday night said he was very pleased with the turnout for his City Council runoff with Vercher.
“I was just happy to see that many people show back up,” DeMarco said. “It just wasn’t in our favor. We fought a good, hard fight, and that’s about it. I hope this city continues to thrive and move forward, and I hope Mike does a great job. I care about this city, and I care about everybody in it. That’s not going to change because I didn’t win.”
DeMarco said he’ll move on and go to work Wednesday and keep on with his days.
“It was a great learning experience for me,” he said of the election. “Short of a few little issues, I think it was a great campaign by everybody that ran. I really do. We all kept it within the lines, and nobody got too nasty. Just your typical political jabs, but nothing I couldn’t handle and that I’m sure Mike or Jacob [Pugh, the third candidate for Council Place 3] couldn’t handle. I think Vestavia really showed up and kept this election a lot classier than some of our neighborhing cities, so I’m happy about that.”
Joining Vercher on the City Council on Nov. 3 will be incumbent Councilwoman Kimberly Cook (who won re-election to her Place 2 seat over Karl Julian on Aug. 26), incumbent Councilman Rusty Weaver (who was unopposed this time around for Council Place 1), Ali Pilcher (who was unopposed to replace her father, George Pierce in Council Place 4) and Mayor Ashley Curry (who won re-election over challenger Richard Cheatwood).
Learn more about Vercher here.
Editor's note: This article was updated with fresh comments from Vercher at 10:24 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 24.
