A foul-mouthed activist in a sleepy Alabama town tortured by endless drama between its city council and mayor delivered a raucous farewell to the officials on Monday.
Activist and self-proclaimed “Yankee transplant” Jackie Beltaine didn’t pull punches as she bid an eager adieu to the Tarrant City Council and its mayor during the public comment period at the final meeting she attended before moving.
She thanked them for causing enough trouble to force her into civic engagement before unleashing a string of F-bombs for the ages.
“F–k you, F–k you, F–k you, F–k you, F–k you, F–k you…” she said, gesturing to leaders seated at the dais one by one. She also pivoted to the city clerk, adding “And F–k you, too.”
Then, she made a swift exit, not wanting to get caught up in any of the leaders’ lingering resentments.
“I bolted. I bolted, yes, I bolted. I just did not trust that a couple of them wouldn’t try to get me arrested for … whatever. And I just, no. I didn’t feel like dealing with that. I just wanted to leave what I had to say and be done with it,” Beltaine told The Post Wednesday night.
She admitted that the council and mayor’s constant bickering and drama inspired her to dive deeper into politics and governance, even pushing her to read the entirety of the city code, state laws, court cases and much of the state constitution.
“I wanted to be able to understand what was supposed to happen, what was happening and address my concerns in an intelligent manner, so I had to go to the books,” Beltaine said.
The advocate also founded the town’s satirical forum dubbed the “Tarrant Tattler” that shifted into a platform for some legitimate news about the city’s dysfunctional leadership meshed with sharp commentary.
Tarrant Mayor Wayman Newton laughed his way through Beltaine’s speech, apparently having the time of his life while the council he often butts heads with watched on in disgust.
“Oh, hell. Now I’m known for using my foul language. [The city council] has been c–kblocking him all this time, for years,” Beltaine admitted.
Still, Beltaine asserted that just because she has defended Newton’s policies in the past doesn’t mean she’s any less critical of his juvenile squabbles with the council.
“I may have agreed with him on the issues, but how he went about it, I didn’t agree with. I tried to advise him on holding his temper. I don’t know what it’s like to be a black person in America, but I know what it’s like to be a woman,” she explained.
“Being on the receiving side of discrimination just because of what you look like or what you are. I know you don’t want to have to swallow the racist stuff coming at you, but look at where you are. You’re in Alabama. You might have to swallow bits of it to get things done.”
“I flicked them all off. He drives me crazy, too. I’m not aligned with the mayor. That’s what everybody thinks, but I’m not,” Beltaine told AL.com.
The small 6,000-person city is headed by leaders who have frequently sparred during their own meetings — sometimes physically. Newton once slugged Councilman Tommy Bryant in the face during a heated exchange in a parking lot, according to surveillance footage obtained by the outlet.
Other attempted actions by the city council and mayor went as high as the state’s Supreme Court, including a move to install a city manager without residents’ approval.
In 2021, Bryant’s wife feared for his life after a clip of him referring to a black councilwoman as a “House n—-r” went viral, spurring hundreds of calls to their home threatening violence.
Beltaine was at that very meeting and insisted that Bryant’s abhorrent behavior wasn’t “isolated.”
“There are people who remember the days where Tarrant was an all-white city, when the Klan used to come down our main street, and so I think there’s a lot of apathy here,” she explained.
Beltaine isn’t quite sure what the future holds for her after downsizing her life into an RV camper. She plans on traveling the country and finally “live for [herself]” while leaving Tarrant in the rearview mirror. Still, she wants someone with “big brass cajones” to replace her unique position in town.
Even so, she’s more than happy to leave the chaos behind.
“Tarrant’s politics are like a microcosm of what’s going on in the larger part of American politics. It’s the us versus them, me versus you, and nobody is going to meet in between to get anything done,” Beltaine told The Post.
The Post reached out to Mayor Newton’s office for comment and tried to reach members of the city council, but the emails listed on the city website were inactive.
