Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
John Marsh chats with Mountain Brook Mayor Graham Smith after his term as Sarah C. Marsh Mayor for the Day on Jan. 12, 2026. Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Graham Smith will never forget her first official act as mayor of Mountain Brook because she’ll never forget the little girl who inspired it.
Smith proclaimed that the city’s annual Mayor for the Day will henceforth be the Sarah C. Marsh Mayor for the Day, honoring the 8-year-old Mountain Brook girl who was among 27 who lost their lives in the catastrophic July 4, 2025, flash flood at Camp Mystic in west-central Texas.
And the first youngster upon whom the title of Sarah C. Marsh Mayor for the Day was bestowed was her brother, John, a fourth grader at Cherokee Bend Elementary School.
“My first act of business,” Smith said after John gaveled the Jan. 12 council meeting to a close. “I loved that little girl very much. I knew her, and she was so special and dear.
“Sometimes you just know what the right thing to do is. This little one loved politics. She did. She loved campaigning. She was ferocious in her own special way. She had a lot of love.”
John, 10, stood by Smith’s side as she read the proclamation honoring the life of his sister. Parents Jill and Patrick beamed with every word.
“Sarah demonstrated an uncommon enthusiasm for civic life and public service,” the mayor read. “She was an avid ‘politico’ with a deep passion for campaigning and assisting in local municipal elections — always eager to participate, to learn and to lead.”
John sat at the head of the table during the pre-council meeting, pounding the gavel when prompted to open and then conclude the meeting. As the grownup politicians assembled in executive session, John dined on a supper of fried rice and Skittles in “his” office upstairs.
“The dinner of champions,” said Jill, a family doctor.
During the meeting, the council:
- Ratified the purchase of a vehicle by the Police Department.
- Ratified the disposal of certain surplus property and its conveyance to Travelers Insurance.
- Authorized the sale or disposal of certain surplus property.
- Granted a restaurant retail liquor license to Crafts 280 at 2727 Highway 280.
- Reappointed K.C. Hairston as the presiding judge of Mountain Brook Municipal Court.
- Authorized an agreement with Barrett Kent Studio for Mountain Brook training expansion.
- Accepted bids for Veterans Memorial Park.
- Agreed to traffic island improvements on Pine Ridge Lane.
- Appointed Colin Mitchell and Trey Echols to the board of zoning adjustments.
- Appointed Diane Griswold to the city’s finance committee.
- Amended the city’s truck ordinance.
The next regular meeting of the Mountain Brook City Council is 7 p.m. on Jan. 26.
