The history of most cities includes a list of mayors that go back decades or even centuries. Pinson has had just three.
And two of them will be on the ballot for the office on Tuesday.
Voters in one of Jefferson County’s youngest municipalities on Tuesday will decide who will lead them for the next four years.
Among them are the city’s current mayor, Robbie Roberts and Hoyt Sanders, Pinson’s first mayor, who served for 16 years.
Pinson, a longtime community in northwest Jefferson County was incorporated in 2004. The new city of about 7,140 people has had two elected mayors and an appointed incumbent mayor, Roberts, who took office less than a year ago.
Also running for mayor is Dezmond Boudreaux.
Boudreaux is a Louisiana native who has lived in Alabama since 2019.
He answered Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey where he outlined his candidacy for mayor.
“I am passionate about politics and economics, which I’ve devoted quite a bit of time to studying. If elected, I would be the first ‘outsider’ to do so,” Boudreaux replied in the survey. “Being from outside Pinson, it is obvious to me how abnormal things are here. I have no connections to any interests besides those pertaining to bettering Pinson.”
Ballotpedia is a nonpartisan online political encyclopedia of federal, state, and local politics.
Among the city’s challenges, Boudreaux told the group that Pinson must work to move away from “its extreme dependency on sales tax” along with stopping a slow population decline.
“This should be done by making Pinson a place young people want to stay,” he wrote. “Making sure Pinson is not left behind while others benefit from state and federal trends and programs.”
Roberts seeks to retain his seat for a full term during Tuesday’s municipal election for mayor and council.
While he has served that role for less than a year Roberts has been a fixture in the Pinson area for decades, according to details on his campaign website.
His public service began in 1995 as a member of the Palmerdale Fire District Board of Trustees where he served for nearly 17 years, including 12 of those years as the board president.
He has also served on Pinson’s planning and zoning commission as well as chairman of the Pinson Library Board.
Roberts, on this website, said he aims to continue regional cooperation within the Birmingham metropolitan area in addition to working with private businesses to continue developing opportunities for Pinson.
Roberts remains adamant in his pledge of ‘No New Taxes.’ Roberts has said that taxes on residents can be avoided when businesses who operate in Pinson pay their proper portion of taxes.
Sanders returned to Pinson City Hall in Nov. 2024 when he was appointed to the city council after Roberts vacated his seat to become mayor.
Sanders, on social media, recounted his previous success as mayor that included paving roads, buying a building for a city hall, opening a library and construction of Bicentennial Park and Splashpad. He also listed several infrastructure projects that were paid for with grant funds.
“We also contributed thousands of dollars to our schools,” Sanders wrote on his Facebook page, where he announced his return mayoral candidacy. “We did all this and maintained a firm financial footing and received stellar annual audits.”
Candidates for Pinson City Council are:
Place 1:
Clinteshia Irvin (incumbent), Tracie Thompson
City Council Place 2:
Brad Walker (Unopposed incumbent)
City Council Place 3:
Angelica Jefferson, Dawn Tanner
City Council Place 4:
Paula Sims (Unopposed)
City Council Place 5
Chris Esquire, Noel Holt, Glenda Kirkland (incumbent)