Despite being outspent 3-to-1, Buddy Choat wins Trussville mayoral runoff
After months of campaigning, the Trussville mayoral race came to a conclusion Tuesday night with City Councilman Buddy Choat being declared the winner of the runoff to replace 20-year incumbent Gene Melton. Fox 6 reports Choat beat Trussville City Council President Anthony Montalto 2,035 votes to 1,342 in a relatively high turnout runoff race. Choat won despite being outspent nearly 3-to-1, with Montalto raising $84,106.48 — including $23,500 from PACs and out-of-town businesses, $11,559.03 in in-kind donations, and $30,000 in personal loans he made to the campaign. As of Monday, Choat had raised $23,926 and spent $19,582.82. The election of a new mayor comes at a particularly tumultuous time in Trussville, as the fire chief and fire marshall of the town of approximately 21,000 were recently placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation into irregularities in the fire department’s finances. The investigation has since been referred to the Alabama attorney general’s office.
Election runoffs in 10 Central Alabama municipalities on Tuesday
Alabamians are headed to the polls yet again on Tuesday for municipal runoffs across the Yellowhammer State. In central Alabama there are no less than 10 runoffs in races that were too close to call on Aug. 23. Here’s a look at a handful of some of the bigger mayoral races today: Anniston Jack Draper vs. Robert Folsom Winnowed down from five candidates, Draper or Folsom will ultimately replace outgoing mayor Vaughn Stewart. Chelsea Tony Picklesimer vs. Dale Neuendorf After five consecutive terms, Chelsea’s first mayor, Earl Nivens, is stepping down, leaving the seat open for Picklesimer or Neuendorf to take over. Childersburg Ken Wesson vs. Pete Storey Outgoing mayor James Payne exits from politics, making way for Wesson or Storey. Fairfield Edward E. May vs. Johnnie Wyatt May and Wyatt are going head-to-head for the seat that’s been riddled with problems — from late or delayed payments to city employees, to losing public transportation, to issues with the police department— under outgoing mayor Kenneth Coachman‘s leadership. Graysville Clark “Julio” Davis vs. Mary Sue Morgan Separated by only 1 percent of the vote in the Aug. 23 municipal elections, the race between Davis and Morgan is expected to be a close one. Hueytown Steve Ware vs. Delor Baumann Another race that was too close to call is August was the Hueytown race between Ware and the incumbent mayor, Baumann. Only 58 votes separated the two. Jasper Greg Tinker vs. David O’Mary Taking over three-term mayor Sonny Posey‘s position will be Tinker or O’Mary. Northport Bobby Herndon vs. Donna Aaron A crowded field of six in August is now down to two. Incumbent Mayor Herndon will face off with Aaron. Sylacauga James Heigl vs. Bryan Taunton With sitting Mayor Doug Humphree out of the way thanks to his fourth-place finish on Aug. 23, Heigl and Taunton will face off at the polls Tuesday, and one of them will walk away as the new mayor of Sylacauga. Trussville Anthony Montalto vs. Buddy Choat With 10-year incumbent Mayor Eugene Melton out of the way, Montalto and Choat are ready to take over the reins in Trussville.
Where’s the change? Choat teams with Melton in hopes of win
In the August primaries, 75 percent of Trussville voters voted against incumbent Mayor Gene Melton, who was seeking a sixth term. The message was clear — it was time to take the city in a different direction. This left two city councilors, Buddy Choat and Anthony Montalto, in a runoff that will be held Tuesday Oct. 4. Both Montalto and Choat campaigned on the promise of change and progress for the city. Throughout the primary, their underlying theme was that a Melton re-election meant more of the same. Both emphasized the city would benefit from a new vision and new leadership. They weren’t the only ones skeptical of the incumbent. A group of citizens banded together to develop Take Back Trussville, advocating electing someone with a fresh perspective. Among their issues with Melton, they pointed to a lack of transparency and even hinted Melton’s friends were benefiting from his position through city contracts and jobs. In February while discussing his run, Choat said: “I think people are ready for change, they are ready to move forward.” After the primary he reiterated that same position saying, “There’s a clear message with this runoff that there’s a lot of interest in seeing Trussville move forward.” Following the August election, Melton announced his endorsement of Choat. With that endorsement Choat changed his tune on the mayor’s leadership, saying “What he’s done is part of my vision for Trussville moving forward.” He stressed the same point in a recent Chamber forum, saying he intended to rely on Mayor Melton’s opinions if elected. Choat’s Sept. 16 financial disclosure includes a $500 contribution from Melton as well as contributions from several longtime Melton cronies. In addition, Melton even seemed to be speaking for Choat in a recent Al.com article. Just last week, significant questions began to be raised about potential wrongdoing and/or financial mismanagement related to volunteer fire department funds. Melton asked the city council to hold off on a closed-door meeting that later ended in the suspension of two top fire officials. Montalto pushed back, insisting that time was of the essence. Surprisingly (or not), Choat sided with the mayor. He later defended his position saying he came around and supported the meeting and suspension, but the timing and fact he sided with Melton rather than act directly and decisively leads to several questions including: Was this the first of many favors for Melton? Whose interest was he protecting by asking for more time for those involved in the alleged misconduct? With the combination of contributions and actions, along with Choat’s sudden about-face on continuing Melton’s path for Trussville, there are other questions voters could ask themselves: Was Melton’s endorsement worth Choat’s change of heart? Choat trailed Montalto after the first vote and appears to be desperate. For weeks now Melton/Choat has attacked Montalto even while Montalto has continued his positive message and campaign. What do Melton and his cronies expect for their financial and vocal support of Choat? Will one of the expectations include he carry forward with employing same friends? Will Melton actually get his sixth term? On what he’d do differently in the runoff election, Choat said his strategy would be different, “We’ll come up with ideas that we’ve not been able to discuss, but we’re going to be more specific this time out.” Singing the same tune as outgoing Mayor Melton is certainly a new strategy. One the voters rejected once already. They should reject it again.
Newly released emails shed light on Trussville city council conflict
According to emails exclusively obtained by Alabama Today, current Trussville Mayor Gene Melton and mayoral candidate and City Councilman Buddy Choat wished to delay going into an Executive Session to vote on whether or not to place on administrative leave Trussville Fire Chief Russell Ledbetter and Fire Marshal Steve Reasonover pending an internal investigation as late as Monday afternoon. “Anthony I received a part of the information requested this morning but need additional time to compile the rest of the data,” Melton wrote in response to City Council President and mayoral candidate Anthony Montalto‘s request that the Council convene an Executive Session to make the decision behind closed doors. “I hope to be able to report back in the next couple of days with a plan and a possible solution to bring this issue to a close quickly. I respectfully ask that you not go into executive session during tomorrow night’s meeting.” “Mayor,” Montalto replied, “I feel we need to go ahead with our decision to go into Executive Session again tomorrow night. With the information that was shared with us last Thursday, I feel the sooner we make a decision about our role, the better.” A few minutes later Choat agreed with Mayor Melton writing, “I disagree. We need ALL of the facts and information to make any decision this important.” When Alabama Today reached out to Councilman Choat regarding the email, he explained that he didn’t want to make the vote on whether or not to place the two city employees on administrative leave until they had enough information to make him feel comfortable taking such drastic measures. “My opinion was, if we’re going to take action, let’s get all the information we can,” explained Choat. “I thought that in case some of that information may have disputed what we had already seen or heard, but obviously it did not. We didn’t get anything to change our minds, so it was unanimous among us to go ahead and do what we had to do.” Choat and Montalto will face off Tuesday, Oct. 4 in a runoff bid to replace Melton as mayor of Trussville. Alabama Today has covered this story since the Executive Session on Tuesday, Sept. 27. Follow us for more details as they break. For the original email chain, click here: choat-email
Anthony Montalto recommends attorney in Fire Chief investigation
In light of Tuesday night’s decision to place Trussville Fire Chief Russell Ledbetter and Fire Marshal Steve Reasonover on paid administrative leave, City Council President Anthony Montalto suggested the city hire a independent, third party counsel to execute the internal investigation. “I strongly recommend the City hire former Jefferson County District Attorney and Trussville resident, David Barber, to serve as an independent, third part counsel to oversee all aspects of the internal audit and investigation and prepare a final report and any recommendations to the City,” Montalto wrote in a letter to his fellow members of the Council. “The City needs complete transparency on this issue,” he continued. The letter, shared exclusively with Alabama Today, sheds some light on the possible reasons for Lebetter and Reasonover’s dismissal, as Montalto recommends the City Council assign Barber a budget for the undertaking, and authorizes him to retain a “qualified third part forensic audit team with responsibility for directing any investigators necessary to explore any and all issues related to any possible irregularities.” Tuesday’s announcement is the latest in a string of recent investigations and arrests of fire officials from municipalities and counties with volunteer fire departments across the state. In March Blount County Fire Chief Paula Robertson was arrested on felony charges she stole thousands from her department over two years. In Elmore County Deatsville assistant Fire Chief Chad Ellis was arrested for arson. And just last month Chilton County Fire Chief Shawn Carlisle was arrested on charges he stole $20,000 from his volunteer fire department. The investigation comes at a particularly tumultuous time in Trussville’s political history, as Montalto and fellow member of the Council, Buddy Choat battle in a runoff for Mayor to take place October 4th. The two men edged out 20-year mayor Gene Melton in August’s elections. Please read the entire letter sent by Mr. Montalto to the rest of the City Council at this link.
Trussville Fire Chief and Marshal placed on administrative leave pending investigation
Trussville Fire Chief Russell Ledbetter and Fire Marshal Steve Reasonover were officially placed on paid administrative leave Tuesday night following a lengthy closed-door executive session of the City Council. Following the announcement made by Council President Anthony Montalto, Councilman Alan Taylor moved to hire a private law firm to conduct the investigation. “Information has come to our attention and it has become necessary for us to look further in to this,” Montalto said. “For the record, no one has been found guilty of anything, this is just an investigation,” he added. “We want to make this clear and hopefully we’ll get good results.” City officials are refusing to make any further comment while the investigation is ongoing. The executive session was listed on the council’s agenda simply as the vague “Vote to go into Executive Session to discuss good name and character,” leaving the approximately 30 citizens of Trussville in attendance guessing how long the closed-door session would last. While two city councilmen-elect were invited back among the sitting members for the meeting, current Trussville Mayor Gene Melton, who lost his seat in August, remained in the main council chamber. The Trussville Fire Department operates under an unusual arrangement where part of the department is paid and part is volunteer. Both Reasonover and Ledbetter work for the paid department. Tuesday’s announcement is the latest in a string of recent investigations and arrests of fire officials from municipalities and counties with volunteer fire departments across the state. In March, Blount County Fire Chief Paula Robertson was arrested on felony charges she stole thousands from her department over two years. In Elmore County, Deatsville Assistant Fire Chief Chad Ellis was arrested for arson. And just last month, Chilton County Fire Chief Shawn Carlisle was arrested on charges he stole $20,000 from his volunteer fire department. Trussville Assistant Fire Chief Tim Shotts was named acting chief while the investigation is ongoing.
Trussville Mayor Gene Melton surrounded by multiple ethics questions, rebukes opportunity to address them
Trussville Mayor Gene Melton has been elected five times, beginning in 1996. While some that this is too long and that the city needs to move forward, Melton believes he deserves yet another term. This year, Melton has drawn two opponents, current City Council President Anthony Montalto and fellow City Council member Buddy Choat. In an unusual move, local residents have also started the “Take Back Trussville” movement, which endorses neither of Melton’s opponents but makes clear their goal is to move the city beyond another Melton mayorship. The founder of the movement, Butch Cole, spoke to Alabama Today after its launch and made clear the fact the group, and himself, wanted a new mayor, saying, “20 years is too long for anyone to be in office.” Last week, Alabama Today spoke to Melton about the race and his opponents, and pointed out a number of errors on his Statement of Economic Interests made from 2011 forward. Speaking about his campaign, Melton emphasized that he was born and raised in the area and that a lot of people in Trussville not only know him, but also know about his history in law enforcement. He stressed the strides in improving education, infrastructure and even the certification of local first responders that have occurred on his watch as ways he has been successful. As for his opponents, Mayor Melton said: “I take the high road, I’m not going to go out there and bash them. I’m running on my record and experience.” Today however, one can only hope he’s taking a break from campaigning and his mayoral duties to address errors on his ethics reports posed by Alabama Today last week. During our interview we had the opportunity to ask Melton about a number of inconsistencies, missing data and wrong information reported in his ethics reports throughout the last five years. Melton has several discrepancies on income and assets on multiple reports filed over a five-year period. Reports Melton noted he personally filled out and filed. The reports in question are his “Statement of Economic Interests,” legally mandated by the Alabama Ethics Commission. The commission’s website cites the appropriate state statutes that cover false and incorrect filings on these statements saying: (e) A person who intentionally violates any financial disclosure filing requirement of this chapter shall be subject to administrative fines imposed by the commission, or shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor, or both. Any person who unintentionally neglects to include any information relating to the financial disclosure filing requirements of this chapter shall have 90 days to file an amended statement of economic interests without penalty. According to his Statement of Economic Interest, Melton claimed he made less than $1,000 as mayor in 2013, a job that pays $60,000 per year and will increase to $75,600 next term. When asked about it, he said, “That had to be a typo or error on my part. I didn’t take a cut in pay and I don’t recall not cashing my checks.” He also noted that, “During all this time, I draw state retirement.” Melton also owns a property at the Country Club Estates, which features properties on Logan Martin Lake in Talladega. On the Talladega property, which appears to make appearances on and off the reports, Melton says, “It’s been there the whole time.” He went on to clarify, “If it’s off, I just failed to disclose it.” The property doesn’t appear on the 2011 or the 2015 reports. Melton admitted it “should be on both of those.” In response to the low price he reportedly paid for the property, he explained, “I got it from my brother-in-law in 1972.” After our interview early last week Melton said, “Now that I’ve been made aware, I’ll go back and make the proper corrections.” Alabama Today reached out to the Alabama Ethics Commission just before their office closed on Friday and was told that they have yet to receive any amended reports. Melton is up for re-election in the upcoming Aug. 23 municipal elections.
‘Take Back Trussville’ group looks to influence local elections
While the 2016 presidential election is making headlines, some groups are focusing their efforts a lot closer to home. Everyone may know who the president is, while fewer know their mayor’s name, but the fact remains the majority of laws Americans live under day-to-day are written and enforced by state and local governments. Likewise, Alabama’s cities haven’t been immune to many of the fiscal and societal struggles of the last several years. Questions of job recruitment, school funding, and community priorities are raised at nearly every city and town hall across the Yellowhammer State. Many of Alabama’s municipalities are holding their own elections Aug. 23, and in the Birmingham suburb of Trussville a group of citizens are taking it on themselves to reclaim the conversation from the elite few, and focus on giving power to the city’s rapidly growing population. “‘Take Back Trussville‘ is a product of the growing concern that a small and shrinking group of people were making the decisions that affect everyone’s lives and they were doing it with less and less input from the citizens,” the group’s founder, Butch Cole, told ALToday. “Also, I had a personal experience with a few of them and after years of people telling me we couldn’t do anything about it, I felt like we had to stop and re-evaluate the types of businesses that were coming and the problems they may bring. I saw my hometown starting to turn into a place to shop in and leave instead of a place you want to stay and live. One of us may go to a council meeting or get on Facebook with a complaint or possibly get a minute of attention from those in power, but hundreds of us will get things done to better our lives. We have to make sure the choices made in this election and with the redevelopment of downtown are the right ones.” A forum in Trussville last week highlighted the issues about which most of the city’s politicians were concerned — job growth coupled with an emphasis on keeping the community family friendly and broadening the tax base — but TBT seeks to introduce more accountability and transparency into the process. At the top of the ticket in Trussville is the mayoral race, where two gentlemen, City Council President Anthony Montalto and fellow City Council member Buddy Choat, are challenging 20-year incumbent Eugene “Gene” Melton. Cole makes no secret of the fact the group wants to see a new mayor, saying “20 years is too long for anyone to be in office,” but came short of revealing if TBT is outright endorsing one of the two challengers. “We hope to ensure that we have a new mayor and he is held accountable and transparent. We want to make sure from the start that we see transparency. We want the City Council to know that they are held accountable and they need to work to bring to fruition the promises they have stated. We didn’t get to this point by the mayor’s decisions and actions alone, some council members and other current decision makers have also made questionable decisions.” Cole said he believes his efforts will pay off Aug. 23, as the people who have gotten involved with TBT turn out in droves. “We’re making sure the people are informed, empowered and that they have a voice. That scares a few of the more entrenched people, They won’t benefit from a big turnout.”
Top 5 moments from Trussville’s mayoral forum
Like many municipalities in Alabama, the Birmingham suburb of Trussville is holding municipal elections Aug. 23. To help introduce citizens of Trussville to the multitude of candidates for both mayor and the city’s five council positions, local newspaper The Trussville Tribune partnered with the Trussville Chamber of Commerce to host a forum Tuesday evening in the community’s civic center. Challenging 20-year incumbent Eugene “Gene” Melton are current City Council President Anthony Montalto and fellow City Council member Buddy Choat. Trussville was no exception to the year’s exceptionally high political interest, with the civic center’s main hall packed with close to 300 people, requiring more chairs to be brought in to accommodate the crowd. While the format of the forum allowed time for mayoral and city council candidates in turn, most of the highlights came from the sometimes-aggressive answers of Choat and Montalto. The candidates were asked questions by Dr. Patty Neal, Trussville City Schools Superintendent; Gail Skipper, director of Parks and Recreation; attorney Bill Bright; and Jane Bailey, former city council president. Here are a few highlights: 1. “Pizza place to pizza place” A central theme of Anthony Montalto’s talking points was the dearth of locally owned and operated restaurants in the community, using the shorthand “family pizza joint” during his answers. But it was city council candidate Tommy Brewer who earned the loudest laughs of the night, quipping his support of improving the city’s sidewalks so people could walk from “Anthony’s pizza place to Anthony’s other pizza place.” While the line got a big laugh, it also highlighted a main theme of the night: the desire to turn Trussville’s downtown area into a walkable community with plenty of local restaurants and shops. 2. Aggressive critiques of Melton’s tenure Both Choat and Montalto explained how they’d run their administrations differently than the incumbent has. Choat focused on his management style, saying “I want to see you in the community and I want to hear from you.” “We’re on the cutting edge of having something magnificent,” he continued. “People choose to move to Trussville. Working with people is how you get things done.” Montalto was even more aggressive, critiquing the mayor’s alleged reputation for being unwilling to work with new businesses. “[Businesses I’ve talked to] have been surprised because they haven’t gotten attention. We need to use our chamber and local leaders to recruit. We need to show them our enthusiasm and our love for Trussville.” 3. Finishing downtown Trussville renovations A common theme among all the candidates on the slate, including those running for city council, was completion of renovations to the city’s downtown area. While a plan is in place, progress has been slow going according to the candidates, and they’d like to see it take place at a greater speed so more businesses will see they are serious about recruiting. 4. Completion of parks Another area of agreement among the candidates is the need to complete the multiple parks in the area currently under renovation. There are several parks, including one on U.S. Highway 11, the city’s main street, that have been under construction or renovation for several years. Melton, answering a question on what he’d like to get done in his fifth term that he hadn’t been able to do in the first four, made completing those projects and others already in motion a priority. While he said they should be done by Nov. 21 of this year, a common refrain from his opponents and prospective members of the council was the disbelief that the projects would be completed in a timely manner. 5. “A pivotal crossroads” Both Choat and Montalto, as well as the council candidates, made it clear they all believe Trussville is at a crossroads in its history. With more and more families relocating to the area, and its reputation for excellent public schools increasing, they believe the city needs leadership with a fresh perspective. The argument was made by Melton, however, that the city wouldn’t be where it is today without his tenure as mayor. But with Birmingham’s landlocked “Over the Mountain” communities of Hoover, Homewood, Vestavia Hills, and Mountain Brook quickly reaching capacity, Trussville is approaching its time to shine as a commuter city. The new residents of Trussville, many of whom moved to the community both for its top-tier public schools and its proximity to Birmingham, have much in common with those who have lived here for decades and have seen it be outpaced by the other suburbs. Progress is the obvious theme of this particular municipal election, but who will the people of Trussville choose to lead it?
