Anniston council interviews city‑manager finalists; candidates emphasize grants, housing and internal reforms

The Anniston City Council interviewed finalists for the city manager position, hearing pitches from Kenneth Free and Derek Swanson and other applicants about grants, housing, public‑safety outreach and internal management reforms. Mayor Sierra Smith told candidates the council would not make an appointment at the meeting and that a selection would be announced at a later date.

The job of city manager — which candidates described as implementing council policy and running the city’s day‑to‑day operations — drew detailed questions about housing, grant revenue, transparency and department accountability. “My leadership philosophy is I’ll lead from the front and won’t ask people to do something that I wouldn’t do myself,” Kenneth Free told the council during his opening remarks, describing a career that included 20…