Russellville native Gaston ends 32-year run as Mountain Brook City Manager

When Russellville native Sam Gaston retired in November from his position as Mountain Brook City Manager, he ended a 32-year run as the city’s longest serving city manager. 

Gaston was hired in 1993 by a split vote of the Mountain Brook City Council. To survive a politically-tied career through eight municipal elections is a rarity, indeed, and his tenure was much longer than he expected when he was hired.

“Mountain Brook was the first city in the state to have a city manager when it was incorporated in 1942,” Gaston told the FFP. “You work for the entire governing body. At Mountain Brook, we have our share of ego and opinion but not of nasty politics.

“The average tenure of a city or county manager is between 7-8 years. I thought I’d be there for that same range of time, but the job continued to be fun. We were doing exciting things and building a great staff, so I lasted 32 years and the job always remained enjoyable,” he added.

In Mountain Brook, the mayor and city council are unpaid positions. It was The full-time city manager works for a part-time, volunteer mayor and council that relies on the manager to navigate through the town’s municipal code and ordinances, handle staffing decisions and citizen complaints, supervise all city departments and explain why certain things can or can’t be done.

Gaston’s passion for municipal government work really grew when he interned with the Northwest Alabama Council of Local Governments under Jim Price, while attending Northwest Alabama State Junior College.

“He was a real role model and mentor for me. That internship cemented my decision to pursue this as my career. And meeting a man named Gary Roberts, who was hired as Tuscumbia City Manager, allowed me to learn what a city manager did and he was such an inspiration to me,” Gaston said.

If not for the political turbulence of his hometown, though, Gaston might have never made his way to Mountain Brook.

After earning his undergraduate degree in Public Administration from Auburn, and his Master’s in Public Administration from Auburn University Montgomery, Gaston had the opportunity to return to Russellville as city clerk. He lasted only nine months on the job.

“I found out at a young age of 23 how political my hometown could be. They had an election that summer and there were a lot of changes. It was touch and go for several months, then (the new administration) went in a different direction,” Gaston said.

Gaston landed a job as city planner in Decatur, and went on to municipal jobs in Gulf Shores and Anniston before he wanted more ‘big picture’ work, as he describes it. So Gaston accepted his first city manager position in Powder Springs, Georgia, where he remained until the Mountain Brook position came open.

And Gaston wasn’t alone in following the Russellville-to-Mountain Brook professional pathway.

At one time, incredibly, there were four men from Russellville serving in leadership positions for the City of Mountain Brook. Don James served on the Mountain Brook School Board, including a term as President. Jim Felton was the first Community Education Director for Mountain Brook and Tim Norris was the Mountain Brook High School Principal and later, Assistant Superintendent of Mountain Brook City Schools.

“The small-town values I acquired growing up in Russellville helped shape who I am today, and who I became over time. The example my parents (Carl and Ruth Gaston), grandparents and other immediate family members made helping and serving others with honesty and integrity as their guidepost along with their spiritual values,” Gaston said. “Those things left big impressions on me.”

Now that he’s ’retired,’ Gaston still finds a way to serve. As a senior advisor for the International City-County Management Association (ICMA), Gaston serves an a volunteer mentor/coach to help city managers or aid cities in filling a city manager vacancy.

Sam Gaston proudly displays the Mayoral Proclamation signed by Russellville Mayor David Grissom honoring Gaston's distinguished career in public service. (Courtesy photo)

“There are three cities in the Birmingham area with new mayors. I’m working to help them hire a city manager or to make decisions in their new positions. I’ve tried my whole career to mentor, help and encourage other people and that won’t stop with my retirement,” Gaston said.

His retirement plans also include doing some traveling with his wife of 44 years, Debby, volunteering as a board member of the North Shelby County Library and spending more time with his children and grandchildren.

He and Debby have two children, Bethany Sheffield (Brad) and Hayden (Whitney), and four grandchildren. 

At his final Mountain Brook City Council meeting as City Manager, Gaston was recognized for his 32 years of public service.

At a reception following the meeting, Russellville native Kitty Rogers Brown presented Gaston with a proclamation from Russellville Mayor David Grissom in honor of Gaston’s years distinguished public service and leadership.

“Sam is just a great person. He’s done an outstanding job as City Manager in Mountain Brook, where he embodies the highest standards of public service, doing so with integrity, foresight and a heart of the people he served,” Grissom said. 

“So it was my honor to recognize this 1974 Russellville High School graduate with a mayoral proclamation,” Grissom added.

The Mountain Brook City Council declared November 10th to be Sam Gaston Day and the city’s council chamber was renamed in his honor.