David P. O'Mary was the 18th Mayor of the City of Jasper. He served the City of Jasper from November 2016 until his death in October 2024. In keeping with his promise to run an open administration, Mayor O'Mary answered citizens' questions and dispelled rumors on his weekly video series, Mayor's Weekly.
In Memorium
September 27, 1952 - October 22, 2024
Jasper Mayor David O’Mary was born in Jasper and lived in the Eldridge community until moving as a young boy to Winfield after the passing of his father. After graduating Winfield High School, David attended and graduated from the University of Alabama with a degree in corporate finance, and from LSU’s Graduate School of Banking of the South. Afterward, he returned to Walker County where he served an 8-year stint in Company A 877th Heavy Combat Engineering Battalion of the Alabama National Guard and began an illustrious career in banking with First National Bank of Jasper (now Synovus Bank) that spanned some 39 years and saw him serve nearly a decade as Senior Executive Vice President, until his retirement.
Mayor O’Mary understood that education is one of the key foundational blocks of a community and served 15 years as a member of the Jasper City Board of Education, 9 of those years as Chairman. As Mayor, he worked to strengthen the relationship between the city board of education, school administrators, and the city.
The need for continual development of employment opportunities is a cornerstone of municipal growth and prosperity and Mayor O’Mary understood this. Prior to being elected, he served for 8 years on the Jasper Industrial Development Board, with 6 of those as Chairman. During his tenure, he was instrumental in recruiting companies such as HTNA to our area and was the driving force behind developing the 50-acre expansion to the industrial park where Yorozu is now operating. As Mayor, David led the charge to add an Executive Director to the Jasper Industrial Development Board as a full-time employee and continued to work to add funding from the city budget to expand opportunities for development.
David served the community in many other areas, as a board member, chairman, or simply a tireless volunteer. Organizations such as the American Red Cross, United Way of Central Alabama, and Beacon House were all passionate endeavors of his community service over the years. In his time as mayor, he oversaw the largest paving and infrastructure project in the city’s history, worked to improve employment wages 5 times for city employees, led the spending and efficiency reforms that have culminated in the largest budget surplus in decades, and maintained transparent, open communication with all citizens. David believed in hard work and preparation for whatever may come and understood compassion is often all someone needs to get them through the day. Sharing and serving those in need were priorities as mayor, which became priorities for the city of Jasper under his leadership.
David P. O'Mary passed away on October 22, 2024.