Alabama Republicans choose Hoover Councilman Mike Shaw as House District 47 candidate

The Alabama Republican Party has chosen Hoover Councilman Mike Shaw as the Republican Party’s representative on the ballot for the Alabama House District 47 seat that was vacated by David Wheeler upon his death in March.

Shaw in November will face one of two Democrats vying for the Alabama Democratic Party’s spot on the general election ballot for House District 47: Christian Coleman and Jim Toomey, both of Vestavia Hills.

The Republicans did not have a primary election for the District 47 spot because Wheeler was the only person who qualified to run for the seat this year before he died. By state law, the Republican Party is responsible for choosing its nominee without a primary election in such a situation.

Shaw was one of three finalists for the Republican spot, which was selected by the Alabama Republican Party Candidate Committee. The other two finalists were Earl Cooper and Ken McFeeters, sources tell the Hoover Sun.

"This was very difficult decision because there were many outstanding candidates who applied for the position,” Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl said in a press release. “Each and every one would have represented the district with distinction. However, there can only be one nominee. I would like to congratulate Mike Shaw on his selection and thank all of those who expressed their interest in serving. Their commitment to the people of House District 47 and our party is to be commended.”

Wahl said party leaders are excited by the experience and energy Shaw brings to the table. “He will be an excellent representative for the people of House District 47,” Wahl said. “The Republican Party is looking forward to working with him to bring common sense back to politics.”

Shaw, who just turned 50, said he believes he would do a good job representing House District 47 because the district covers parts of both Hoover and Vestavia Hills and he is very familiar with both cities.

He grew up in Vestavia Hills and graduated from Vestavia Hills High School in 1990, and he and his wife, Shelley Shaw, moved to Hoover more than 20 years ago and live in Hoover’s Loch Ridge community.

He was elected to the Hoover City council in 2016 and re-elected in 2020. For the past 17 years, Shaw has been the chief technology officer and senior vice president for Mutual Savings Credit Union.

He represents the Hoover City Council on the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission, Sports Facility Advisory Committee.

He has spent 25 years in the information technology business, founded the Hoover Technology Roundtable and is a member of the technology advisory group for the Riverchase Career Connection Center, a board member for Tech Birmingham and a former longtime board member for Birmingham Infragard.

He also in 2018 helped found a group called Destination Hoover International, a nonprofit that seeks to build partnerships and strengthen ties with communities around the globe. He is a member of Shades Mountain Baptist Church and the Spain Park High School Band Boosters.

His wife, Shelley, is president of Destination Hoover International and executive director for the Hoover City Schools Foundation.

Shaw said he is honored to have been selected from such a distinguished group of applicants for the House District 47 seat. The Republicans’ interview and selection process was thorough and fair, he said.

Shaw said he believes he would be a good legislator because of the experience he has gained as a city councilman. “You learn a lot at the city level,” he said.

Not only has he had a chance to learn the nuts and bolts of city government, but he also has a good understanding of the impact that decisions at the state level have on local governments, he said.

One thing he would like to do as a legislator is make sure Hoover and Vestavia Hills get their fair share of money for infrastructure projects, such as roads, bridges and interstate interchanges, he said. He noted that both Hoover and Vestavia Hills have state highways and interstates going through their cities and said he wants to make sure infrastructure money is used wisely and efficiently.

Statewide, improving education is a big priority because the state is consistently low in a lot of areas when it comes to education, Shaw said. There are a lot of failing school systems that need innovative solutions, such as charter schools and school choice options, he said.

However, he wants to make sure that successful school systems, such as Hoover and Vestavia Hills, are not harmed in the process of improving other school systems, he said.

“If they’re doing very well, don’t mess with it,” Shaw said.

Shaw also said he wants to keep a close eye on the impact of legislation passed last year that legalized medical marijuana. While cities have a choice on whether to allow medical marijuana dispensaries in their city limits, Shaw said he is concerned about the impact of such dispensaries in urban areas where cities are close together.

When asked if he favored allowing medical marijuana dispensaries in Hoover or Vestavia Hills, Shaw said that’s “a hard question” but one he expects the cities will have to face in the near future.

But he doesn’t think people realize the impact that a dispensary in one city will have on surrounding cities, he said.

Numerous legislative candidates have proposed rolling back recent state gas tax increases due to the high cost of gasoline right now.

Shaw, who said his record reflects he has voted against tax increases more than in favor of them, said he thinks it would be difficult to remove gas taxes that already have passed but he definitely doesn’t like the automatic future gas tax increases that were included as part of the law.

The law, passed in 2019, raised gasoline and diesel fuel taxes by 10 cents per gallon over three years and linked the state fuel tax to a national index on highway construction costs that could adjust Alabama’s tax rate by a penny every two years beginning in 2023.

Shaw said he would like the Legislature to revisit the automatic future increase part of that law because he believes any tax increase should require a vote at the time of the increase.

If Shaw were to win the November general election, he would have to give up his seat on the Hoover City Council, and the City Council would be responsible for appointing his replacement.