A Baldwin County state senator faced mounting questions in early 2011 over his company’s receipt of substantial oil spill cleanup contracts — even as he held authority over the disbursement of millions in BP funds earmarked for the county.
State Sen. Trip Pittman’s firm, Pittman Tractor Co., was awarded $639,000 by the City of Fairhope for oil spill response work. At the time, Pittman was responsible for overseeing the distribution of $15 million that BP had provided to Baldwin County for spill-related costs.
Ethics Concerns and Paperwork Changes
When Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency Director Leigh Anne Ryals flagged the arrangement as a potential conflict of interest, county legal counsel Scott Barnett reportedly determined that it posed an ethics violation. According to reports, Pittman subsequently submitted revised paperwork listing a different entity, Oil Recovery Co. Inc., as the contractor rather than Pittman Tractor. Despite the change in documentation, the city still directed payment to Pittman for the work.
Other local business owners said they were excluded from the contracting process. Silverhill businessman Don White told the Press-Register that he had shown Pittman an absorbent barrier boom product but received no follow-up, and was never informed that Pittman had authority over the BP funds.
Complaints Filed, Calls for Resignation
Fairhope resident Paul Ripp filed formal complaints with the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, the Alabama Ethics Commission, and other agencies. The Constitution Party of Alabama called publicly for Pittman’s resignation.
Meanwhile, several Baldwin County officials who had raised questions about the contracting arrangements reportedly faced professional consequences. Ryals and County Administrator Michael Thompson, among others who questioned Pittman’s involvement, either resigned or were demoted from their positions.
Additional Contracts and Financial Interests
The Town of Perdido Beach separately paid Pittman $98,000 for oil spill work. In that municipality, City Councilman William Kelley received more than $300,000 and Councilman Ronnie Resmondo nearly $10,000 for similar work.
Baldwin County Commissioner Bob James, who was a business partner of Pittman’s through Eastern Shore Materials Inc., was quoted by the Press-Register saying he did not support continuing certain county contracts after taking office. James said the “legislative delegation” had expressed concerns about Ryals, though members of the local legislative delegation told the newspaper they had nothing negative to say about her and praised her leadership.
County and state records also showed that Pittman and Commissioner James held financial interests in property near a proposed interchange at Baldwin County Road 13 and Interstate 10 — a project Pittman had been actively promoting.
James’ company, James Bros. Excavating Inc., was also awarded a $1.1 million contract by Fairhope for hurricane debris removal, a contract previously held by Pittman Tractor Co. Both companies operated from adjacent properties on Milton Jones Road in Daphne, with their joint venture, Eastern Shore Materials Inc., located behind them.
Former Daphne Mayor Harry Brown publicly questioned no-bid contracts issued in connection with Renaissance LLC, a company partly owned by Pittman and Eastern Shore Materials, which had received a large municipal bond issue. Brown also drew attention to related political contributions.
Pittman Fires Back: ‘Vendetta,’ Says Mayor Calls Criticism Conspiracy Theory
In early February 2011, Pittman publicly responded to the ethics complaints for the first time, dismissing them as a political grudge or vendetta, while Fairhope Mayor Tim Kant characterized accusations implicating the city as conspiracy theories. Kant acknowledged to reporters that Pittman had an adverse reaction when told the spill-response contract should have gone out to bid rather than being awarded directly.
The controversy did not slow Pittman’s rise in Montgomery: despite the pending claims, he was named chairman of the Senate Finance and Taxation-Education Committee, the panel responsible for the state education budget. Observers noted that no investigation of the complaints had been announced by the new legislature.
Pittman expressed regret about the optics in comments to Lagniappe: “Certainly I didn’t understand public perception of how seriously some people take that you shouldn’t do business when you’re in office, and I understand that now.” He later told the Press-Register editorial board he wouldn’t do it again.