John Hinton Becomes Northport Mayor; Swearing-In Set For Tuesday

NORTHPORT, AL — At the stroke of midnight to end New Year's Eve, District 3 Councilman and Northport City Council President John Hinton became the city's new mayor.

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Hinton will be sworn in at noon Tuesday during a ceremony at Northport City Hall, before attending his first special called meeting as mayor directly after. Hinton will now serve the remainder of the unexpired term of former Mayor Bobby Herndon, with the next municipal election set for August 2025.

As Patch previously reported, Herndon tendered his resignation in early November, with the intention of stepping down at the end of the calendar year.

Herndon claimed the decision was prompted by a lack of support on the Council to get a street renamed in front of his personal place of business, despite being warned by other city officials of unfavorable optics and a potential ethics violation if the Council were to move forward with the street renaming.

Hinton is a retired assistant superintendent of personnel and general services for the Tuscaloosa County School System and currently serves as minister of music at Northport Baptist Church.

He was first appointed to the City Council in January 2019 to fill a vacancy on the Council and later won his first full term in 2020.

As Patch previously reported, a vacancy will also need to be filled for the District 3 seat, with the remaining council members given 60 days to appoint a new representative from the district.

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