Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle is running unopposed after qualifying for the race ended Tuesday. Barring a highly unlikely write-in campaign, Battle will be re-elected to his fifth term after the municipal election Aug. 27.
Battle received the news he would have no opponent at a campaign event in downtown, Huntsville calling it “unprecedented.”
“We’ve never run a campaign unopposed before,” said Battle. “But we’re going to tell our story again and run our campaign.”
Battle, 68, was first elected in 2008 and has served four terms. In the 2020 election, he garnered close to 80% of the vote. He has served 16 years in office.
At his campaign kickoff event last October, Battle highlighted Huntsville’s 14 straight Triple-A bond ratings. Since taking office, Battle said he has focused on running the city on a balanced budget, aiming to increase efficiency and transparency throughout the process.
The consistently excellent bond ratings and overall fiscal health of the city are a testament to the success of the administration’s money management methods, he said.
RELATED: Mayor Tommy Battle cruises to reelection in Huntsville (2020)
Battle said more than 41,000 jobs have been recruited to the Huntsville area in the last 15 years. Working with officials across the region, Battle helped recruit companies such as Blue Origin, Polaris, GE Aviation, Facebook, and others, particularly the groundbreaking Mazda-Toyota partnership.
As a result, Huntsville has an unemployment rate of 1.7% and was recently named the No. 1 job market in the nation.
At Tuesday’s campaign event in the offices of MartinFed, Battle thanked his supporters, saying the people of Huntsville have been the key to the city’s success.
“We are very excited and each of you are part of Huntsville’s success. Each of you are part of the success the city has become,” said Battle. “Each of you can make a difference in this city. And if you’ve made the difference, you’ve made it very easy to govern the city and to make sure that the city continues to go forward. And then we continue to do the right things.
“Thank you for being part of what makes this a great city and and thank you for your support.”
Grayson Everett is the state and political editor for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @Grayson270
