On November 1, 2024, something happened that Alex Wyatt never saw coming. After Mayor Patrick McClusky announced his retirement in September, Wyatt, the Council President, assumed the office of Mayor. When asked if he ever predicted being Homewood’s mayor, Wyatt’s answer is simple, “Never. Absolutely never.”
Wyatt got his start on the Homewood City Council when he was appointed as the Ward 4, Place 2 councilor in June 2015. “I had expressed interest in serving the city in some capacity,” Wyatt remembers. “Then the spot opened up on the Council, and I submitted my name for consideration and was appointed.” Wyatt served the final year of Heather Reid’s term and ran unopposed in 2016 for a full four-year term. “I wanted to support the schools and make sure they had everything they needed,” Wyatt says of his goals then. “And I wanted to address Homewood being under the Lid Bill.
In 2018, Wyatt led the effort to have Homewood removed from the state’s Lid Bill, which caps a municipality’s Ad Valorem taxes. With neighboring cities Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills exempted from the cap, in November 2018, Homewood, which had been at the cap since 2010, attempted to be exempted as well. “It was a big deal to me because it was so important to our schools,” Wyatt says. “We wanted to be able to control our own tax base.” While the vote passed by a large majority in Homewood, the effort ultimately failed. “The people in Homewood saw the importance of it, but we just couldn’t get the whole county to vote for it,” he adds.
In 2020, Wyatt decided to run for Council President. “I knew there was going to be an open seat (President Peter Wright had decided not to run for re-election), and I thought it was important for that seat to have Council experience,” Wyatt says. “I had run meetings when Bruce (Limbaugh) and Peter (Wright) were out. I enjoyed it and felt like I could do it and do it well.” Wyatt ran unopposed and took the President’s seat in November 2020.
In September, Mayor Patrick McClusky announced his decision to retire on November 1, 2024. McClusky’s announcement triggered the city’s order of succession, putting the Council President in the Mayor’s seat for the remainder of the term (with an additional year added by the state, the mayor’s term officially ends on November 1, 2025).
“I was sorry to see Patrick go because we had worked so closely during his term, but I was excited to end my career in public service by doing this for a year,” Wyatt says. He had already decided that this term would be he his last and he would return to his full-time job as an attorney. “My day job will stay the same, I’ll just have more time.”
Wyatt is also ready to help Homewood transition to the new Council-Manager form of government, which passed by referendum in September. “I’ll be able to help complete the transition to the new form of government, which is very important to me,” Wyatt says. “The passage of the Council-Manager form of government is the biggest thing any of us have ever been a part of. It had been needed for a long time, and it will help Homewood meet its full potential. By making this happen for Homewood, it felt like a capstone for my career in public service.”
For the next year, in addition to helping the council implement the city manager form of government, Wyatt will focus on finishing the projects—like stormwater and economic development—that have been underway. “My goal is to set the table for the next Council and Mayor and make the transition as smooth as possible,” Wyatt says. “Bringing fresh energy is always good, and it’s time to hand it over to people with fresh perspectives and new ideas.”
When Wyatt completes his mayoral term in November, he plans to end his public service career. “I knew that the end of this term was going to be the end of my career in public service.” Wyatt says. “I just didn’t realize I’d be finishing as the mayor. I’ve enjoyed all my roles, and I am very proud of the work we’ve done and the things we’ve accomplished.
Wyatt was born and raised in Mountain Brook, and graduated from Mountain Brook High School, Spring Hill College, and the University of Alabama Law School. Wyatt is married to Megan, with whom he has children Riordan, 29, and Ander, 22. Wyatt is an attorney at Wilson Elser, where he started on the day he assumed his role as mayor.
As for what he’s looking forward to in November 2025 when his term of service is up, Wyatt has a ready answer, “I’m excited to figure out which restaurants are open on Monday nights!”
