A lot has changed in Birmingham over the last two decades but one thing that has remained consistent is City Councilor Valerie Abbott, who was first elected to represent District 3 in 2001.

Over the years Abbott has been an outspoken advocate for the issues that matter to her.

Most recently, she publicly opposed a 2024 budget draft from Mayor Randall Woodfin, saying it was not “addressing the things that we [the council] complained about over and over and over and over” while she slapped a conference table in agitation as seen in a video published by AL.com in late June.

While Abbott told the Lede in this week’s Q&A that she was overall pleased with the new version of the budget that was passed, she still thinks Birmingham’s money could be better spent than it is now.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.