Bobby Payne Not Running For Tallassee Mayor Again

Bobby Payne has been the mayor of Tallassee for a good part of the last 30 years.

After gearing up to run again, he’s decided not to have his name on the ballot next month.

About 6 months ago, Mayor Bobby Payne had these printed up for his re-election campaign as mayor here in Tallassee. But in the last few weeks he’s decided not to run again.

With the exception of one term in 2008, Bobby Payne has been mayor of Tallassee since 1988.

But now he says it’s time for someone else to take over.

But he says he has a reason.

“I guess my wife. Mary Carol, of course, she’s always told me what to do and I generally do it. It might take me a while. She’s always right. Anyway, I don’t know, she just said it’s time. And I said, you mean to quit? And she said yeah, you need to,” said Payne.

It’s a decision that caught some people off guard in the community.

“I was a bit surprised, he’s almost an icon in the town. I’ve known him since I moved here, he’s given years of public service,” said Elizabeth Britt.

“We love him. We sure do. He’s a nice man,” said Judy Stinchtomb.

You can see signs all over town for the upcoming election.

There’s a lot of experience that comes along with those names, but Mayor Payne has one piece of advice for whoever takes over.

“Make sure you tell them the truth. And it hurts! Ooh, lord, I’ve been in more trouble than anybody. But I’ve always come back and said I’ve made a mistake. Most time folks will forgive you,” said Payne.

Payne says he’s most proud of helping to bring industry into the community, including several aerospace companies in just the last few years.

It’s a job he says he will miss.

“Oh man, every day of it. I hate to leave. I don’t want to get teared up or anything but I think it’s a great opportunity for me to be here for this long and I’m going to miss it,” said Mayor Payne.