GUEST COLUMN: Let’s Talk About What The Northport City Council Really Did

*This is an opinion column submitted by Northport resident Jack Roberts*

NORTHPORT, AL — My intention this morning was to sit down and point out something that I find very interesting about the current election campaign for the Northport City Council: None of the incumbents running to keep their seats on the council seem to be very excited to talk about their crowning political achievement.

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I am, of course, talking about the University Beach Resort currently under construction off McFarland Blvd. behind Tractor Supply.

And that’s odd.

Because this $350 million dollar product is one of the biggest in Tuscaloosa history. And the City of Northport is investing something like $20 million in it.

It’s one of the largest commercial/economic developments in Tuscaloosa County – ever.

And, these city council members said, it’s a project that would turn Northport into the premier beach resort destination in the Mid-South. And one that would create jobs and spur an economic boom generating millions of dollars of business and tax revenues for the city, county and state.
Sounds great, doesn’t it?

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Which brings me back to my original theme for this little column.

The city council members running for reelection this year really do not want to talk about that project when they’re recounting all the great things they’ve done for Northport over the past four years.

And that’s because once the full investment, scope, scale and location of the product was finally revealed to Northport voters, there was immediate and overwhelming opposition to it.

And this the part where I was going to dutifully say that is because the Northport City Council “ignored” the will of the voters and ramrodded the project through anyway.

But out on the lawn mower a little while ago (I do a lot of deep thinking on the lawn mower) it occurred to me that’s not right.

I mean – We’re Southerners. We tend to be polite. Particularly in pubic discourse.

So we politely say the council “ignored” the concerns of its constituents.

But here’s the thing: The Northport City Council didn’t just ignore the will of the voters.

What it did was far, far worse than that.

What this city council really did was flip its middle finger at Northport voters.

And not just one time.

This city council flipped off Northport voters time and time and time again over the past four years.
Too many times for me to recount in a column like this, in fact.

And they didn’t just flip voters off in public — like they did on February 19, 2024. At the City Council meeting that night, the council members ignored an overflow, standing-room-only throng of angry voters, suspended usual procedural rules and approved the project anyway.

Even worse, some — but not all — of these council members did the thing in private conversations with Northport citizens.

This town is overflowing with stories of dismissive, sneering and even insulting exchanges concerned Northport voters have had with current council members. (As well as that one guy who suddenly resigned his seat once he’d ramrodded the resort project through.)

These were phone conversations. Email and text messages. And social media exchanges.

And I know this for a fact.

Because I had several of those conversations with members of this city council myself.

And their message was clear: We know what’s best for this city. You don’t. We’re going to do what we want to. You need to sit down and shut up.

And these people work for us.

If that’s not the political equivalent of flipping someone off, then I don’t know what is.
But guess what?

On August 26, 2025, Northport voters will have the chance to flip the incumbent city council off in return.

Because that’s election day in Northport.

And on that day, Northport voters can send a clear message out that the kind of behavior this city has been subjected to over the past four years by its elected officials is completely and absolutely unacceptable. And it will not be tolerated in any way, shape or form going forward.

I’ll be doing my part that day by casting my vote for Danny Higdon as councilman of Northport District 5.

If you live in the city of Northport, I urge you to go to the ballot box as well on August 26. And when you do, I hope you’ll reflect on the behavior and attitude Northport citizens have had to put up with for the past four years.

If you do that, I believe you’ll agree with me: It’s time to clean house in Northport.

Jack Roberts is a native of Northport. He is a professional journalist and a freelance writer. The views and opinions expressed in this opinion column are his and are in no way reflective of the views of Tuscaloosa Patch or its parent company.

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