Photo by Savannah Schmidt
Buddy Choat, the Trussville mayor, visits the Trussville Entertainment District, one of the sites he contributed to during his time in office.
Trussville Mayor Buddy Choat knew it was time to step down as mayor during a trip with his family last year. The mayor, who had overseen a major redevelopment of downtown and revitalized the area, will leave the office when his term ends in November.
Choat announced his decision during his State of the City address at the October Trussville Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon, a week after the vacation.
Choat and his wife, Ginny, traveled with one of their daughters, Katie, to Nova Scotia, to see the sights and experience the culture of the Celtic Colours International Festival.
Photo by Savannah Schmidt
Buddy Choat, the mayor of Trussville, sits behind his desk on Nov. 19, 2024. Choat plans to bring several positive changes to the city before he retires as mayor.
“We had time to get away and just be up there and see the different part of the world that I’d never dreamed I’d go to,” Choat said. “I got my first passport. I’ve never even had a passport to travel anywhere. So, I thought, ‘This is pretty cool,’ and not that we’re going to travel every day or every month, but just to have that flexibility to be able to kind of get in the car and go somewhere or do something.”
Choat has been in the workforce for 50 years. Like anyone else, it was just time. He has grandsons and wants to experience all that retirement life has to offer. He had discussed with his family not running for re-election in 2025, but the trip to Nova Scotia served as a final push.
“If I was going to make the announcement, I didn’t know what was the best time,” he said. “I don’t know whether to wait until after the first of the year. You don’t want too many people to maybe get involved too early, too late or whatever. But I was at peace with it.”
Choat was first elected as mayor in 2016 and then again in 2020. He previously served two terms on the Trussville City Council from 2008 until his election as mayor.
Choat said major accomplishments during his tenure include the Valley Road extension and downtown redevelopment, the latter of which dominated much of his mayoral run.
