Rusty Jessup spoke to the St. Clair County Republican Party on Thursday about his candidacy for Alabama House of Representatives House District 30.
Jessup said that about half of St. Clair County is in District 30, but, based on population, 55 percent of the people the district live in Etowah County.
“When I first beame Mayor of Riverside there were a lot of things I did not like,” Jessup said. “I did not like the police department so I ran for office.”
“Thirty five percent of the House are not running again,” Jessup said. “It very easily could be a 50 percent turn over in this election.”
St. Clair County will have, “A good solid delegation down there if we can pull this off” Jessup said of his bid.
“I am a team player,” Jessup said. “I am one of these old fashioned guys that believe to be successful you have to lift up others around you.”
Jessup is running for the seat currently held by Rep. Mack Butler, R-Rainbow City. Butler is running for State Senate in District 12 where incumbent Sen. Phil Williams, R-Rainbow City, is not running again.
Mayor Rusty describes himself on his Facebook page as “a common sense conservative.” He is in his fourth term as the mayor of Riverside, “And seeks to bring a voice of reason and cooperation to the Alabama State Legislature.”
He graduated from Shades Valley High School and has a Bachelors of Science degree from Jacksonville State University.
Jessup is the Chairman of the St.Clair County Mayors Association, an Executive Committee member of Alabama League of Municipalities, and a Board Member of the St. Clair County Healthcare Authority.
Jessup faces stiff primary competition from former Ashville Mayor Robert McKay, architect B. Craig Lipscomb, and Ryan Preston.
The Republican Party Primary will be on June 5.
The winner of the Republican primary will face Democrat Jared Vaughn on November 5 in the general election.
The next meeting of the St. Clair County Republican Party will be at 11:45 a.m. at the City Market Grill in Pell City on May 24.
