Trussville election 2025: Trains, traffic and trash dominate mayoral debate

Published On: August 12, 2025

In Trussville, which has only had two mayors in the last thirty years—Gene Melton from 1996 to 2016 and Buddy Choat since 2016—two current members of the City Council and the Jefferson County Tax Collector are running for mayor.

Under Choat, who is not seeking reelection, Trussville developed the Gateway, an entertainment center featuring a community stage encircled by eateries and bars and anchored by Ferus Artisan Ales.

During the July 29 mayoral forum at the Trussville Civic Center, Ben Short, proprietor of the Trussville to Go ordering service, stated that it had revitalized our city. Prior to being elected to the city council in 2020, Short served as a Trussville police officer for ten years.

He is now running for mayor against tax collector J.T. Smallwood and fellow council member Lisa Bright.

Northeast of Birmingham, in a former country community constructed alongside the railroad with U.S. 11 as its main roadway, Trussville has long struggled with how to handle its rapid growth and the resulting traffic.

How can growth be managed without halting it? “Short said.” We must have that discussion.

Trussville, the county’s fastest-growing community, has seen its population expand from 20,000 in 2011 to over 27,000, making it a focal point of suburban expansion.

“Trains, traffic, and trash are the three main complaints I receive,” said Bright, who has been on the city council since 2020. In addition, she founded the Will Bright Foundation in memory of her son, who passed away from addiction. Together with her husband, lawyer Bill Bright, she has been helping the foundation generate over $300,000 annually to combat drug addiction.

The city school system in Trussville, which separated from Jefferson County Schools 20 years ago, has also drawn young families.

According to Short, the catalyst is our educational system.

According to Bright, schools are a major source of economic activity.

Smallwood, the tax collector for Jefferson County, ran for mayor after expressing disapproval with Trussville’s handling of expansion and what he saw as careless spending in the city’s $50 million yearly budget.

Smallwood claimed that we prioritize wants over needs.

A $5 million purchase of a plot of property outside the city to halt the construction of an apartment complex was one of the land transactions that had left the city with a budget deficit until recently. According to Short, the apartments would have increased the volume of calls that the Trussville police and fire departments would have had to react to in nearby regions, which would have put a strain on them.

Since then, the land has been sold for $3 million with plans to construct homes. According to Smallwood, we don’t have to buy real estate at a premium and sell it for a discount.

Meanwhile, more people are purchasing online, which has led to a decrease in sales taxes, which make up 65 percent of local revenue.

A sizable portion of city-owned land along the Cahaba River watershed was recently sold to Trussville Utilities for around $8 million in order to close the city’s budget deficit.

“We’re doing well financially,” Short stated. We are balanced as of right now.

According to Short, the city must attract businesses that aren’t impacted by internet buying. “Recruiting different types of business is the key,” he stated.

Smallwood ran on a platform of negotiating with Birmingham officials to close the enormous Eastern Area Landfill that is close to Trussville’s Magnolia Springs community and elementary school. During the mayoral forum, he stated that the landfill must be closed.

In response to Smallwood’s campaign pledges last week, Birmingham City Council President Darrell O. Quinn stated that Trussville was at fault for zoning a residential area and neighborhood school adjacent to the landfill more than 10 years ago, and that Birmingham had no plans to close the landfill.

Trussville didn’t want to engage into a court battle with Birmingham and incur legal fees, according to both Bright and Short.

Legal fees were not brought up, according to Smallwood. It’s known as diplomacy. It’s known as relationships.

The mayor and council of Trussville, who were elected to four-year terms in 2020, were granted an additional year in office, similar to what happened in many other Alabama cities. In order to prevent municipal elections from coinciding with the presidential election, the Legislature established a law requiring all municipalities to hold elections on the same date.

The following individuals will be on the Trussville ballot on August 26 for the positions of mayor and city council:

MAYOR

Lisa Bright

Ben Short

Smallwood, J.T.

No. 1 Council Place

Horton, Ben

Wayne Taylor

No. 3 Council Place

Anderson, Jaime Melton

Hughes, Leslee

No. 4 Council Place

Jim Miller

Reed, Mildred

No. 5 Council Place

Farr, Kimberly

Montalto, Anthony

No. 2 Council Place

Brian Jackson, without opposition

Code 11-46-26 allows the city to remove Council Place No. 2 from the ballot because only one candidate met the requirements for that post and to declare Brian Jackson as the legitimate winner.