Tim Melson is lucky to be alive.

Knowing that, he says, informs his thinking as a family man, as a businessman, and as a candidate for Alabama Senate District 1.

The retired Florence anesthesiologist nearly died five years ago. He was working as chief of anesthesia at Helen Keller Hospital, a position he had held since 1995, when his liver began to fail.

Because the Church of Christ member didn’t drink, do drugs or engage in any other harmful activities known to cause liver damage, he was shocked.

“Doctors told me I needed a liver transplant and a heart transplant,” he said. (The liver problem was affecting his heart function.)

Although he got on a transplant list, he wasn’t hopeful.

“I planned on just going home — figured I’d had a good life,” he said.

Then, he received a call from a doctor in Pittsburgh, who said they had a liver for him. The doctor believed a new liver would resolve his heart problems. The doc was right.

It was after Melson returned home and recovered that he started thinking about running for state Senate.

“I had two (children) still in high school, so I decided to enjoy them and get them out and then I decided to run,” he said. During that time, he had time to re-evaluate his life and think about what really mattered to him.

“I decided it doesn’t matter what you accumulate, it’s what you leave behind,” Melson said. He and his wife Lynn have three children and have been married 33 years.

Improving life in North Alabama became his goal. He retired from anesthesiology, which consumed a monumental amount of his time. He now owns Shoals Medical Trials, which performs clinical trials for new drug development, farms about 300 acres of row crops, and is a hobbyist cattleman.

Local visit

Melson stopped by The News Courier this week to try to pick up votes in Madison and Limestone counties before the July 15 Republican runoff, which is fewer than two weeks away. Melson’s competition in the race is Athens native Chris Seibert, who is a member of the Athens City Council, a sales director for a heart-catheterization manufacturer, a former Air Force captain, and a former Alabama Crimson Tide football player. During the June 3 Republican primary election, Melson received 4,922 votes, or 40 percent, compared to 4,487, or 36 percent, for Seibert. Republican Jonathan Berryhill, an Anderson business owner, received 2,899 votes, or 24 percent.

Alabama Senate District 1 includes parts of Limestone, Madison and Lauderdale counties, so with Berryhill out of the race, both Melson and Seibert are hoping to pick up some of Berryhill’s supporters for the runoff.

Melson said, if elected, he hopes to address Medicaid, lure more jobs to the area, create a climate that allows businesses to grow, and expand the job opportunities available to youths by offering more technical and vocational training, he said.

Medicaid

Melson agrees with Gov. Robert Bentley’s decision not to expand Medicaid in Alabama. Medicaid and prison spending make up a large portion of the budget.

“We’ve got Medicaid issues we have got to address,” Melson said. We’ve got 1 million people on it and if we expand that will put on another 300,000. I don’t think we can afford that. We’ve got to get them jobs and get them to work. Get them off Medicaid.“

He acknowledged that about 67 percent of Medicaid expenditures are for seniors and the disabled but said, “We want them to go to the doctor, but they pay no copay, no anything. We should at least have reasonable copay. We want people to have more skin in the game.”

Student opportunities

Melson said Alabama’s youths need more job opportunities and a method for achieving them.

“I want to look at creating more dual-enrollment and tech training so we have a job-ready workforce,” he said. When a person is figuring out what their course is in life, we have to realize that not every one is made for college, so let’s have good vocational training.”

Would he represent Limestone?

As for Athens and Limestone County, Melson said, if elected, he would represent the entire district, not just Lauderdale County, where he resides. 

“I care about and am worried about the whole (Tennessee) Valley,” he said, noting his grandfather was from the Coxey community, his aunt lives in Athens and his uncle worked at Decatur High School.  “I have a lot of relatives in Limestone County.”

He sees numerous problems affecting District 1.

“We have job issues, infrastructure issues, and I think we should consider expanding the intermodal system to Florence,” he said. “With education, I think we need to hold parents accountable and give teachers the material they need … I want what’s best for the area.”

Endorsements

Melson has been endorsed the Alabama Farmers Federation, the Alabama Forestry Association and the Limestone County Young Republicans. He served on the board of directors for the Florence Surgery Center from 1995-2008 and on the advisory board for various drug developers.