COLUMN: Why I Won't Be Covering The 2025 Northport Municipal Election

*This is an opinion column*

NORTHPORT, AL — Today is the day I say goodbye ... at least so far as it relates to covering the upcoming campaign season over the summer leading to the Northport municipal election this fall.

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Those who've followed my work over the years undoubtedly know I'm a stickler for my professional ethics and my ideological chickens have finally come home to roost after retired Tuscaloosa County Homicide Unit Commander Dale Phillips announced on Wednesday that he is running for mayor of Northport.

When the news became official, I knew it was time to practice what I so often preach and I do hope you'll understand my predicament.

Dale Phillips is my Dad and I'm incredibly proud of him. After all, he was my little league baseball coach, taught me how to drive and once went out into the cold on Christmas Eve night to fetch a CD repair kit from Northport's Blockbuster Video to fix a brand new video game I'd scratched as soon as it was out of the package.

In short, he's my hero — even if we disagree on everything.

But as great of a father as he's been these last 35 years, I must admit that I haven't done much, if anything, in the way of reciprocating such devotion when he's been on the campaign trail.

Instead, I kick myself to this day that I stood idly by over the two previous election cycles and did nothing to help him in his last two bids for City Council and mayor. I was more worried about my professional ethics and protecting my fledgling reputation in the Tuscaloosa area.

But this town simply isn't big enough for the two of us — ethically speaking, anyways — so it's high-time I take my figurative leave until the election season concludes.

As I've explained to my family and those closest to me, I'm also proud and quite protective of the trust I've built up in the area over nearly five hard-fought years of producing independent journalism every single day and want to preserve that reputation by avoiding any perceived conflicts of interest.

So, for the purposes of this very real scenario, my only option is to completely avoid covering anything within a pretty wide blast radius of the upcoming municipal election on Aug. 26.

Don't be sad, though.

This doesn't mean I'm ceasing my dedicated investigative coverage of the University Beach controversy or other important goings-on in City Hall unrelated to the election. I'll just have to be more surgical in my approach and even more mindful that the slightest ethical misstep could cost me the reputation I've worked so hard to build up.

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I'm also expecting you, dear reader, to hold me accountable on that front.

Nevertheless, while I'm temporarily relegated to the sidelines, this means the onus is now on you to keep up the fight for accountability in City Hall. What gives me hope is that, to this point, your tenacious spirit has been on display at every turn — and that scares the powers that be more than anything else you could do right now.

And don't let the prospect of taking on City Hall intimidate you, either. Contrary to the old cliché, one can fight City Hall and one can most certainly come out the victor if you keep the pressure on — I've done it myself with little more than a laptop, some coffee and a bit of unrelenting grit.

As your neighbor, too, I'm also here to help and be a resource, regardless of who you're voting for.

Need help understanding how to navigate campaign finance records? I'm a phone call away and have an expert knowledge of the Alabama Secretary of State's filing system.

Concerned that you don't have a good enough grasp on the issues before you cast your ballot? My email is ryan.phillips@patch.com and I will be as objective as possible when answering your questions.

Want to get in touch with the candidates? I happen to know the best places to reach them.

What I can't stress enough here is that while I might be removed from the scrum of this election cycle, I'm as dedicated to my hometown today as I've ever been and am absolutely elated at the energy I've seen in the run-up to the municipal election this fall.

I love Northport and its people. It's a place I believe is worth fighting for and a city I deliberately chose to live in when I moved back to Tuscaloosa County in the summer of 2020.

Still, my hometown is plagued by a plethora of nagging issues with big-picture implications — namely the concerns looming over the University Beach resort development that have a clear majority of the city's residents incensed at the prospect of having such a massive project shoved down their throats without a shred of consent or public input.

Regardless of my Dad's candidacy, though, I've said ad nauseam in my opinion columns over the last two years that the leadership in City Hall has shown a reckless lack of respect for the will of the public on issues like the proposed sale of the Northport Community Center, the Kentuck Festival leaving for Tuscaloosa and now University Beach.

This brings me to my final point that will most certainly not be lost on the Northport electorate when they cast their ballots in a few months.

I've covered politics at all levels for well over a decade and have to say, this will very likely be the first single-issue municipal election I've ever witnessed — a notion that boldly underscores how fed-up so many in Northport have become with the irresponsible way City Hall does business.

University Beach was just the final straw and I sincerely believe the voters are going to get the change in City Hall they have been demanding.

So, friends, in my absence on the campaign trail, I challenge you to hold officials and candidates alike accountable for their positions on the issues that will impact your daily lives.

If you truly want change in Northport City Hall, it's time to get involved and have your voice heard.

Go to public candidate forums, ask your elected leaders the tough questions and ask them to back up what they say.

We live in a time where faith in our public institutions is more eroded than ever but you as an individual still have the power to be the change you want to see in the world.

¡Adiós!

Ryan Phillips is an award-winning journalist, editor and opinion columnist. He is also the founder and field editor of Tuscaloosa Patch. The views expressed in this column are his own and in no way a reflection of our parent company or sponsors. Contact him at ryan.phillips@patch.com