After about a year in the role, Alan Trout stepped down from his Democratic Party Chair position.
When Alan Trout became chair of the Athens County Democratic Party in June 2014, he said he hoped he would be able to invoke more participation from Democrats outside of the city’s normal political circles.
“I thought with just a local redneck barber working as chair, maybe they’d get enthused,” he said.
But Trout, who works at Carsey’s Barber Shop on North Court Street, never saw the position as a long-term role.
“I was hoping for it to be maybe a couple of years,” he said. “I ran because we didn’t have a lot of choices. I just felt I was the better choice at the time.”
Earlier this month, after more than a year at the helm of the party, Trout announced he would step down, leaving the position temporarily to Vice Chair Debbie Perry.
Trout had originally been appointed after Athens City Auditor Kathy Hecht stepped down in anticipation of her campaign for the county auditor seat.
“I made the decision (to step down) probably about four months ago and finally I thought, ‘If I’m going to do this I’m going to do it soon,’” Trout said.
He said with the 2016 elections looming, he wanted to step down before the responsibilities became too much for him to handle and he wanted to give his successor enough time to adjust to the job.
“The presidential race is going to be a big battle,” he said. “I’d have to have take four months off from my job.”
The presidential race won’t be the only responsibility for the up and coming party chair.
Several county positions will be open for election in 2016, including County Sheriff, Coroner, Prosecuting Attorney, Clerk of Courts, and two County Commissioner seats.
“(The election) is going to demand an awful lot of time,” He said. “I just don’t have the time that I can spend doing that.”
Trout said he didn’t have anyone specific in mind to take his place, although he did petition some of his fellow Democrats to consider the role, all of whom turned him down.
“I hope they look for somebody who’s new to this thing,” he said.
Before a replacement is chosen, Perry will have to call a session of the party’s central committee, on which Trout serves.
The committee will then nominate candidates and cast a vote to appoint the new chair.
“It will probably be sometime in the next week,” Penny Brooks, deputy director of the Athens County Board of Elections, said.
She added that the board has no jurisdiction over the process.
Trout remained adamant that he wouldn’t fade from the local political scene completely.
“I’m not leaving the party,” he said. “I’m still on the central committee. I’ll still be involved.”
Trout said that although he didn’t garner as much participation from average Athens County residents as he would have liked, he was still satisfied with his stint in the position.
“I was surprised to see that Alan was stepping down,” Councilman Kent Butler, D-1st Ward, said. “But I sincerely appreciate his service work for the party and I always appreciated the fact that... Alan was a straightshooter.”
Butler said he did not have any idea who might be in line to replace Trout.
“All in all, I’ve had a good run,” Trout said.
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