WSFA 12 News Montgomery, AL |Montgomery realtor in question

Montgomery realtor in question

Posted by Hannah Lane  -  bio | email

MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) - There are now questions surrounding Mayor Todd Strange and County Commission chairman Elton Dean's involvement in a land deal.

The city of Montgomery purchased some property and Dean, a realtor, represented the city.

The property at the center of complaint is at 750 West Fairview Avenue.

It's the site of a former glass company and part of the city's plan to revitalize west Montgomery.

According to Mayor Strange, "Dean had been working with the city of Montgomery to identify some property on West Fairview Avenue.  It may be used for a police substation or a resale location."

Strange says Dean did good work and even helped save the city some money.

"He negotiated the price down about $60,000," stated Strange.

Dean made money off the deal and some complain the Mayor is helping pad his friend's pockets.

"Our friends are in the business, our friends have these listings, and I'm friends with a lot of people," argued Strange.

WSFA 12 news has obtained correspondence between Dean's attorney and the ethics commission.

It appears the chairman approached the commission to get its opinion before the deal.

The attorney for the commission wrote that he did not see any ethics violations with the deal.

"If Elton Dean had been the single source for all the transactions the city has done, then you might have a question about it.  However, we've done probably 20 transactions over the last 7 months that I've been in office.  This is the only transaction that has involved him," stated Mayor Strange.

We attempted to contact Elton Dean for his response, but he has not returned our calls.

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