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 years in the U.S. military and senior positions at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Free said his HUD experience gives him “an understanding of housing authorities” and grant programs the city could pursue. He told council members Anniston is an “entitlement city” that receives federal community development funds and said the city should ensure it uses allocated funds rather than returning them; he gave the figure of about $750,000 a year in entitlement funding in his remarks. Free urged the council to pursue federal, transportation and other grant programs actively and proposed incentives for private developers to include set‑asides for affordable units.

Derek Swanson, describing a recent termination while serving as a local city manager elsewhere, framed his candidacy around transparency and internal operations. “I fell in love with a city that didn’t love me back,” Swanson said, describing friction he encountered in his previous role; he also said, “I’m a person of integrity.” Swanson emphasized regular public reporting and “city informational” sessions (town‑hall style briefings) to keep residents and council members updated on goals and progress, and he said he uses an internal strategic plan to align department work with council priorities.

Both candidates addressed public‑safety issues. Free said visible, courteous customer service and coordinated policing were important to drawing new residents; Swanson highlighted community policing and training for officers, and said he expects department heads to identify resource needs so the manager can pursue those priorities.

Council members asked about the city’s comprehensive plan, downtown development and the role of building and fire codes in supporting business recruitment. Swanson supported maintaining adopted codes while seeking targeted incentives and clearer processes for downtown development; Free described incentives and small‑scale neighborhood rehabilitation projects he said had succeeded in other communities.

No vote or formal direction was taken at the interviews. Mayor Sierra Smith said the council would “make the decision at a later date” and would announce that date publicly. The council fielded written questions from an absent member, Council member Harris, and told applicants the city would conduct background checks before any offer was extended.

The council will consider the interview record and follow up materials before making a hiring decision.