His life began in Birmingham, Alabama, and ended in Southaven, Mississippi, but it was in Columbus where James Trotter made a name for himself.
Trotter, 95, died Nov. 6, but his memory is sustained in Columbus. In a city where few public buildings are named for its citizens, Trotter stands apart. The Trotter Convention Center was renamed shortly after Trotter ended his fourth term as Columbus mayor in 1989.
“Really, the city council wanted to name it after him when they finished the renovations in 1986, but he wouldn’t hear of it,” said Edna Boone, whose first term on the city council was Trotter’s last as mayor. “Usually, when the idea comes up to name something after somebody, there’s a lot of argument about it. But there was no ruckus at all about naming the Trotter Center. That should tell you something.”
Certainly, Trotter’s credentials supported the move — four times elected as mayor (“And he could have kept on being elected if he had wanted to,” said Dewitt Hicks, who served as city attorney throughout Trotter’s mayoral tenure), 10 years on the Columbus Municipal School Board, as well as board member for the Columbus-Lowndes Chamber of Commerce, the Columbus Air Force Base Council and Boy Scouts of America chapter.
He was also a 39-year member of the Columbus Rotary Club, where he was recognized as Paul Harris Fellow, and a deacon and Sunday school teacher at First Baptist Church in Columbus.
But when longtime Columbus residents speak of Trotter, it’s not the titles he held that are most prominent in their memories.
“He was just a nice guy,” said Hicks.
“He was friendly, easy to talk to,” said Boone.
“He was quiet, but very sincere when he spoke,” said Josie Fannon, whose late husband, Jimmy, succeeded Trotter as mayor.
“He would listen,” said Lowndes County Supervisor Leroy Brooks. “Even if he disagreed with you and you knew it, he would take the time to hear you out. You always felt like he cared about what you had to say.”
“The life that Mayor Trotter led always put others first,” said current Columbus Mayor Robert Smith. “He sought out ways to help others and enlisted friends along the way to help him help others too. He was a quiet giant of a man that spoke softly, but his words gave direction in times of need. He never sought the spotlight or desired credit for his work but worked tirelessly to help those he served.”
Smith noted that Trotter was instrumental in preserving the history of those who served as mayor before him.
“Mayor Trotter loved history,” Smith said. “During his as (tenure) as mayor, he researched Columbus records to document the names and dates of every mayor and city council that has served our city. He had engraved plaques made to record these records, and those plaques are proudly displayed next to the front door of City Hall in Columbus today. It is our honor to continue to update those plaques and continue his work.”
From small business to city business
It would have been hard to predict Trotter would have gone on to become lead the city as its mayor for 16 years.
Affable and unassuming, Trotter never attended college after graduating from Lee High in 1943. Instead, he went to work, first delivering the Birmingham News, then at Western Auto. Displaying a trait that would be a hallmark of his time as mayor, Trotter was careful with his money, ultimately saving enough to open a gas station and wrecker service located across the street from what is now the Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau at Third Street and Main.
“It seemed like everybody I know bought their gas at that Texaco station,” Fannon said. “I think a lot of that had to do with (Trotter). He was just so friendly, always happy to see you.”
Trotter owned the station for 27 years, but from the time he was first elected as mayor in 1973, his business was city business.
“He was very careful with the city budget,” Hicks recalled. “He made sure the city was on sound financial footing. It’s something he watched very carefully.”
Trotter arrived as mayor at a time when the city was growing. Leigh Mall had just opened, as had the Highway 82 bypass and the Tenn-Tom Waterway.
“I think Jimmy was the right person for the time,” Boone said. “He was polite, soft-spoken, but he wouldn’t put up with a lot of mess. He wasn’t somebody you could run over. Not at all.”
Hicks said Trotter’s warm, inviting nature was something that never left him.
“He absolutely had an open door policy,” Hicks said. “He was generous with his time. It didn’t matter who you were.”
‘Everybody’s friend’
Brooks got to know Trotter beginning in 1980, when he was brought in with Paul Coggins to operate the city’s federal programs after it received a $2.5 million Community Development Bloc Grant.
“One of the interesting things, during the early years of my career, there were a group of us black citizens who could go in and talk to the mayor about some things that needed to happen,” Brooks recalled. “He would listen. A lot of times, his answer wouldn’t be what we wanted, but there were other times when he agreed. For that day and time, that wasn’t always the case.
“I think the perception in the black community was that he was an OK guy,” Brooks added.
Hicks said Trotter was more than just a colleague.
“We were very close,” Hicks said. “He was just a wonderful person, someone you respected. I do know that every decision he made, it was strictly for the good of the community. He never made a decision without spending a lot of time praying about it.
“When he moved to Southaven about 15 years ago — he wanted to be near his youngest daughter who have moved to Memphis — I really hated to see him go,” he added. “He was just so much a part of our city.”
Fannon said having the convention center, home to so many community events, named in Trotter’s honor seems only natural.
“That was Jimmy,” she said. “It seemed like he was everybody’s friend.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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Related Photos
Charles Faulkner, Golden Triangle Regional Medical Center Administrator, meets with U.S. Senator Thad Cochran and Columbus Mayor James Trotter in the grand opening ceremonies of the $2.5 million prenatal care unit at the hospital. Photo by: Dispatch file photo
The James M. Trotter Convention Center in downtown Columbus is pictured in this 2017 Dispatch file photo. It is named for the four-term mayor who served from 1973-89. Photo by: Dispatch file photo
