Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox Announces Bid For Fifth Term

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox officially qualified this week to seek a fifth term in office after telling Patch in late 2020 that he did not see any world, especially during the coronavirus pandemic, where he would not seek re-election in an effort to promote continuity of leadership as the crisis persists.

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"Time and again, you have placed your trust in my leadership, and I do not take this responsibility lightly," Maddox said via Twitter Thursday morning. "With your help, together, we will continue building a bridge to a brighter future."

Maddox, the city's 36th mayor, has served in the city's highest office since 2005, enduring a range of valleys and peaks from the 2011 tornado outbreak that damaged a wide swath of the city to tremendous economic growth due in part to the success of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team under coach Nick Saban.

He was also the Democratic nominee for governor in 2018, winning the statewide party primary with 54.6% of the vote that June, before eventually losing to incumbent Republican Gov. Kay Ivey.

Qualifying for municipal elections opened on Tuesday and will run through Jan. 26, with the election set for March 2.

As of the publication of this article, no candidates had submitted paperwork to qualify to run against Maddox, although rumors of possible competitors persist.

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