Vestavia Hills has a council-manager form of government in which the Council’s role is policy-making and considering those actions which require council approval. Daily operations of the City are the responsibility of the city manager. The Mayor and the four members of the Vestavia Hills City Council are elected at-large, meaning that each represents all residents of Vestavia Hills rather than those of a particular geographic area. Therefore, the Mayor and/or any member of the Council may address any issue, regardless of area.
The City Council typically meets monthly on the second and fourth Mondays with a work session typically held on the third Monday.* Meetings and work sessions begin at 6pm and are open to the public, although comment may only be made at the invitation of the Mayor. Schedule changes may occur due to holidays, emergency closures, etc. For more information, contact City Clerk Rebecca Leavings at rleavings@vhal.org or 205.978.0131.
*Beginning January 2026, Council meetings will be scheduled monthly on the first and third Mondays beginning at 5:30pm. Work sessions will be called on an as-needed basis so that the Council may be timely in addressing pressing needs of the City.
The City Council’s primary objective is to shepherd an environment that builds a strong economic base, a superior school system, an unsurpassed quality of life, and a moral character beyond reproach.
– Ashley C. Curry, Vestavia Hills Mayor and Council President
Ashley Curry, Mayor
205.978.0130 | acurry@vhal.org
After finishing high school in Montgomery, Alabama, Ashley Curry obtained an undergraduate degree in Industrial Management from the University of Alabama and an MBA from the University of South Carolina. His professional career began with his work in production supervision, sales and accounting with Milliken & Company of Spartanburg, SC, followed by a 25-year career as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He served the Tampa division for two years then was transferred to Birmingham in 1980 where he remained until his retirement in 2003. During his tenure with the FBI, he worked a myriad of criminal investigations including white collar crime, organized crime, public corruption, drugs, personal crimes and property crimes. Prior to his retirement, he worked as the FBI Police Training Coordinator where he handled the training of state and local police officers.
After retiring from the FBI, Ashley served as the Assistant Federal Security Director for Law Enforcement with the newly created U.S. Department of Homeland Security, specifically the Transportation Security Administration, and was assigned to the Birmingham International Airport. In 2005, he left law enforcement and moved back into the corporate arena as the corporate recruiter for EBSCO Industries. In this capacity, he handled the recruitment of executive level positions within the company’s 30 different business units. He retired from EBSCO in 2014.
In the summer of 2016, Ashley launched his campaign to become the mayor of Vestavia Hills, Alabama. He was elected in August and began his first term in office in November of that same year. At the conclusion of his first term, Ashley ran for re-election and began serving his second term in office in November 2020.
Ashley and his wife, Marga, have been residents of Vestavia Hills since 1986. They are members of Vestavia Hills Methodist Church and recently celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary. They have two children: Stuart and Anna. Their son, Stuart Curry, is a dentist and resides in Vestavia Hills with his wife, Christy, and their two children. Anna Curry Gualano, their daughter, is an attorney and also resides in Vestavia Hills with her husband, Mark, and their two children.
Pursuant to Act 2010-544, the Mayor acts as the President of the Vestavia Hills City Council and is a voting member of the Council.
Rusty Weaver, City Council, Place No. 1 (Mayor Pro Tempore)
205.957.7427 | rweaver@vhal.org
Rusty Weaver was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1970 and was raised in Vestavia Hills. He has been dedicated to and involved in Vestavia Hills for almost 40 years. He is a graduate of Leadership Vestavia Hills, class of 2018, and a member of Vestavia Hills Civitan Club.
Rusty attended Vestavia Hills Elementary East, Pizitz Middle School and graduated from Vestavia Hills High School in 1988. Following high school, Rusty graduated from the University of Alabama, Summa Cum Laude in Business Administration in 1992, and the University of Alabama School of Law, earning a Juris Doctor in 1995. He is an attorney and general contractor as well as owner of a working livestock farm in Etowah County, Alabama. He and his wife, Michelle, have two sons, Michael and Major. Michael is a recent graduate of Samford University and currently attends Cumberland School of Law. Major is a student at Vestavia Hills High School where he is a member of the varsity football and varsity baseball teams. The Weaver family attends Church of the Highlands.
His belief in the importance of a strong family, community, local values and teamwork inspired Rusty to coach a variety of sports in the Vestavia Hills Parks and Recreation system over the last 15+ years, including soccer, baseball and JSYFL football. That same dedication to his fellow Vestavia Hills residents and families was the basis for extending his involvement to the City Council. He currently serves as Mayor Pro-Tem and is on the Vestavia Hills Planning and Zoning Commission.
Kimberly Cook, City Council, Place No. 2
205.807.0503 | kcook@vhal.org
Born in Virginia and a graduate of the College of William and Mary, Kimberly and her husband, Greg, settled in the Birmingham area in 1991. In 2002, they bought a home in the Liberty Park neighborhood of Vestavia Hills. Since then, she has been an active volunteer in our schools and community.
First elected in 2016, Kimberly’s focus has been to improve transparency, communications and bring a higher level of community engagement to city government. She supports our city’s upward-trending economic development that provides resources for excellent schools, city services, and facilities – something our citizens expect and deserve for their hard-earned tax dollars. She has served as the Council’s Education Liaison, and a member of the Annexation Review Committee since 2016. She earned her Certified Municipal Official designation in 2018, by completing 40 hours of coursework with the Alabama League of Municipalities.
Shortly before moving to Vestavia Hills, Kimberly left her career as a senior software engineer with SouthTrust Data Services so she could devote more time to her family and community volunteerism. Over her career with Electronic Data Systems and SouthTrust Data Services, she helped develop and maintain systems in multiple industries, including military defense, car manufacturing and banking.
Ever since her oldest son entered Scouting as a Cub in 1998, Kimberly has been a volunteer Scout leader, serving as Advancement Chair, Pack Committee Chair, Cubmaster, Membership Coordinator, Vulcan District Board Member, Fundraising Chairman and Merit Badge Coordinator. She most recently served as a Commissioner for the Vulcan District. She completed the Wood Badge leadership training course and received many Scouting awards, culminating in the Vulcan District Award of Merit and the Greater Alabama Council Silver Beaver Award. Both her sons are Eagle Scouts, and her family still enjoys hiking, cycling and exploring nature.
As a charitable volunteer, Kimberly served as Grace House Christian Home for Girls Board Treasurer, and Brother Bryan Mission Board Secretary. She is active in her church, having taught youth Sunday School and children’s choir over a period of 20 years at Dawson Baptist Church.
Kimberly’s outside political involvement includes serving on the Jefferson County Republican Party Executive and Steering Committees, and the Alabama GOP Executive Committee. She is the Vice-President of the Mid-Alabama Republican Club. She has served as a captain for the Mighty Alabama Strike Force that campaigns in battleground states to drive voter turnout.
In the community, she is a graduate of the Leadership Vestavia Hills (2022), and member of Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce, Vestavia Hills Arts Counci, and Friends of the Library. She is a founding member of the Jefferson County Councilors Coalition.
Kimberly has developed many connections over the years through her work with PTO, holding a variety of board positions including Online Registration Chair, LPM and VHHS Partners in Education Chair, VHELP Corporate Fundraising Chair and Gala Committee, LPM and VHHS Legislative Liaison, VHCS Math Textbook Committee Member, Pizitz Home Room Parent and Newsletter Editor at LPM and VHHS. In total, her PTO work spans four VHCS schools, over a period of 14 years. As a councilwoman, she remains active in Help the Hills student health advocacy group, and supports legislation to curb student vaping and illegal substance use.
Kimberly’s husband, Greg, is an Associate Justice on the Alabama Supreme Court and was previously at the law firm of Balch & Bingham. He is an ordained deacon, a Greater Alabama Council Board Member and teaches as an adjunct professor at the Alabama School of Law.
Kimberly and Greg have three children, all of whom graduated from Vestavia Hills High School – Geoffrey (2010), Mary Catherine (2014) and Will (2019). Go Rebels!
Michael Vercher, City Council, Place No. 3
205.842.2397 | mvercher@vhal.org
Mike Vercher is a graduate of the University of Alabama (1992) and the University of Alabama School of Law, where he earned his degree cum laude in 1999. He and his wife, Monica, married in 2005 and soon after made their home in Vestavia Hills. Their two children, Drew and Madgie, have been part of the Vestavia Hills City Schools community from elementary school through high school.
Before his election to the Vestavia Hills City Council in 2025, Mike served the community in a wide range of volunteer roles, including coaching youth basketball and serving as Chair of the Planning and Zoning Commission. He is also a proud alumnus of Leadership Vestavia Hills, Class of 2015.
Mike has spent more than 27 years as a civil defense litigator with Christian & Small, LLP, the firm where he began his legal career. He serves on the firm’s Executive Committee, chairs its Transportation Practice Group, and holds additional leadership roles within the legal community, including serving as Program Chair for the American Bar Association (ABA TIPS) Transportation Megaconference.
Ali Pilcher, City Council, Place No. 4
205.842.1133 | apilcher@vhal.org
Ali Pilcher was elected to the City Council in 2025 and serves as the Council liaison to the Vestavia Hills Board of Education.
She has lived in Vestavia Hills for most of her life and attended Vestavia Hills Elementary East, Vestavia Hills Elementary Central and Pizitz Middle School before graduating from Vestavia Hills High School in 1998. She graduated from Auburn University with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and then earned a Master’s degree in Secondary Education from UAB before embarking on a career as an educator. She taught high school social studies for eight years and served as the student activities coordinator and student government sponsor.
Ali left the workforce to stay home with her children, but when they began school, she became actively involved with the PTO, where she has held numerous leadership positions. She previously served as PTO president at Dolly Ridge Elementary and currently serves as president of the system-wide PTO Council. She also worked with a nonprofit organization that helps underrepresented students pursue postsecondary opportunities, and she helped Vestavia Hills City Schools establish a community engagement initiative and alumni outreach network.
Ali is a 2023 graduate of Leadership Vestavia Hills and currently serves as president of the LVH board of directors. She and her husband, Chad, have two daughters, a fifth grader at Dolly Ridge and a seventh grader at Pizitz. They are members of Dawson Baptist Church.
Jeff Downes, City Manager
205.978.0195 | jdownes@vhal.org
Jeff Downes became the city manager for Vestavia Hills in July 2013 after retiring from the City of Montgomery, Alabama, where he spent the last decade of his 26-year career there as an executive level leader and carried the title of deputy mayor. He possesses a wealth of experience and understanding of municipal government and is especially adept at connecting people to promote community and economic growth. He espouses New Urbanist philosophy for creating quality living spaces in urban development, and economic development is a primary focus of his efforts in Vestavia Hills.
From early in his career in Montgomery, Alabama, where he served as the city’s first risk manager and later as its first deputy mayor, Jeff has kept a continuous eye for improving operations. Under his direction, the Risk Management Division began numerous innovative initiatives designed to control the costs of certain risk exposures, which included the creation of a workers’ compensation management system, a fully integrated employee assistance program; drug testing program; international drug importation program; self-insured liability program; and flexible spending account program. As deputy mayor, he led a number of successful projects that earned him widespread respect among government, agencies and the residents of Montgomery. Among his Montgomery successes was facilitating the establishment of the non-profit organization Eat South, whose mission is to support urban agriculture and healthy eating, similar to the Jones Valley Farm in Birmingham. He sought to improve aesthetics through infrastructure projects whenever possible and was an advocate for preserving historical architecture and promoting culture. An award from the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce for his work with The Alley entertainment district (2013) described him as “Courageous, Visionary, Rebellious. For vision and leadership that has forever changed the Quality of Place of the Capital of Dreams.”
Upon engagement as Vestavia Hills’ city manager in 2013, Jeff quickly established a dynamic of cooperation that led to movement on a number of projects that had been slow to progress. His leadership and facilitation have overcome challenging obstacles and have gained critical support for many efforts including the Community Spaces Plan and preceding recreational facilities improvements, development projects in areas throughout the city’s geography, and investments in infrastructure improvements. Within the City of Vestavia Hills organization, he has overseen the restructuring of several departments and strengthened the value of its vendor relationships through increased partnership and innovative programs. He has embraced technology and social media as tools to build consensus in the community and enhance City services to the public.
Since relocating to Vestavia Hills in 2013, Jeff has become a sought-after member for several boards on the local, state and national level. His current list of board memberships are as follows:
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- Alabama City/County Managers Association, Immediate Past-President
- Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham, Secretary
- Local Government Health Insurance Board (Alabama), Vice President
- Cahaba Solid Waste Disposal Authority, Vice President
- Vestavia Hills Miracle League, Coach of the Red Tornadoes
- The Exceptional Foundation, Board Member
- United Way of Central Alabama, 2023 Campaign Co-Chair Community Division
- States Risk Retention Group,* Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Jeff graduated with honors from Auburn University with a Bachelor of Science in Public Administration and from AUM with a Master of Public Administration. He has served in many community groups: Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Weed and Seed Program, St. Bede Child Development Center Board of Directors, Health Services Inc., Hampstead Institute and Catholic Social Services. He is a graduate of Leadership Montgomery and Leadership Alabama. He also is proud to share that he earned the rank of Eagle Scout in his youth. Since moving to Vestavia Hills, he has joined the Vestavia Hills Sunrise Rotary Club and graduated with the Leadership Vestavia Hills Class of 2015. Jeff is married to the love of his life, Penny. Jeff and Penny, along with their children – Chad (Miracle League athlete), Sydney (nurse), Harrison (musician) and Alex (future teacher) — are long-time residents of the Liberty Park area of Vestavia Hills and are parishioners at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church.
*States Risk Retention Group is a nationwide captive insurance company domiciled in Vermont. Jeff Downes is a certified workers’ compensation claims adjuster.
Cinnamon McCulley, Assistant City Manager
205.978.0143 | cmcculley@vhal.org
Cinnamon McCulley has been employed with the City of Vestavia Hills since April 2017. She served as communications director until October 2022 when she was promoted to assistant city manager.
In her current role, Cinnamon engages in a variety of economic development activities focused on the retention and growth of existing businesses within the city and coordinates cross-departmental activities and initiatives to provide efficient and effective City services. Additionally, she divcrects the City’s communications and branding efforts through the sharing of information, ideas and practices. Communications efforts involve a variety of platforms, including various print and digital publications, Web marketing, social media outreach, working with local and national media outlets and participation in membership organizations.
Cinnamon brings more than 30 years of experience in marketing, communications, public relations and graphic design experience with both non-profit and for-profit entities. Her professional career began with HealthSouth Corporation (now Encompass Health Corporation) in 1993, where she held many positions within the marketing department. During her 14 years of employment with HealthSouth, she advanced from the role of production coordinator to assistant vice president. Additionally, she worked with Brasfield & Gorrie as a senior marketing coordinator for three years and served as executive director of the Vestavia Hills Library Foundation.
In addition to serving in professional roles, Cinnamon enjoys being actively involved in working toward the betterment of her city and community and is an avid volunteer in the Vestavia Hills community. She is a 2017 graduate of Leadership Vestavia Hills and has served as a member of the Sibyl Temple Foundation Board, Vestavia Hills City Schools Foundation Board of Directors and Help the Hills Coalition Board.
Cinnamon was born in Mobile, Alabama and lived there until moving to Montevallo, Alabama to attend college. In May of 1992, she graduated from the University of Montevallo with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing. She and her husband, Kirk, along with their two sons, Walker and Whitten, are long-time residents of Vestavia Hills and members of Vestavia Hills Methodist Church.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the Council Places? There are four Places on the Vestavia Hills City Council in addition to the Mayor. The Mayor and City Council are elected at large. Therefore, “places” designates the seats only; they are not tied to any geographic area.
When are Council members elected? Members of the Vestavia Hills City Council are elected for four-year terms on the fourth Tuesday of August for terms beginning November 1 of that year.
Where can I find information regarding elections? For additional information regarding polling places, precincts or instructions to run as a candidate for Vestavia Hills Mayor or City Council, visit https://vhal.org/departments/city-clerk/municipal-elections.
How can I view minutes of a Council meeting? The minutes of the previous meeting are included with the agenda for the upcoming meeting. Agendas are available online at https://vhal.org/government/agendas.