Brandall Branch was born in Iowa, but his family’s roots are pretty firmly planted in Glasgow. Six generations of his family – including his father and two brothers – are buried here.
He moved back with his parents, Robert and Elizabeth Branch, when he was a year old and spent his early childhood living in the town where they had grown up. Even after his family moved away again when Branch was 7, they continued to return for summers and holidays.
“As a child, Glasgow was my safe place,” he told The News-Gazette. “I would like to see it be that place again.”
Due to growing up in a military family – his father served in the U.S. Air Force – Branch moved around a lot and says that he was educated “all over.”
Prior to permanently moving back to Glasgow in 2019, Branch spent eight years serving as a medic in the Army Reserves and served as president of Support Inc., a nonprofit in Tampa, Fla., which focuses on providing comprehensive support services for children and adults. He is an ordained American Baptist minister and currently serves as the associate minister and senior warden of St. John’s Episcopal Church.
In 2022, Branch was elected to Town Council as a write-in candidate and was reelected in 2024.
Branch said that the most pressing issue the town is facing is the recent increase in questions from residents, which he describes as a “witch hunt, which was ignited by a disgruntled employee.”
“It takes away from the real issues such as drugs and trying to clean up the town so we can be attractive for people wanting to move here,” he said. “For four years and three previous town managers who did nothing, no one came to the meetings. If people came to the meetings, the questions would already be answered.
“In the church we say, ‘In decency and order,’” he added. “That is not how the town council was approached.”
As he runs for a third term on Town Council, Branch said he is “still committed to my community, which I am very vested in,” as well as “my home, family and church.”
“I would love to see Glasgow become more elder friendly and safe for our children,” he said. “In my church many members say the same thing: ‘We were driving through and loved it.’ I hope to see Glasgow live up to that.”
