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The lead-up to the city elections that will be held in Tuscaloosa this March is still remarkably quiet. Mark Hughes Cobb of the Tuscaloosa News reports that every incumbent city councilor, except for District 4 councilor Lee Busby, has already announced they’re running for re-election.
At the same time, almost no challengers have formally announced campaigns to oust the current councilmembers. The main exception is the District 1 race, where two people have both filed to run against incumbent councilor Matthew Wilson: Que Chandler and Joe Eatmon.
Que Chandler
Chandler, a regional organizer for the African American Civil Rights Heritage Sites Consortium, is preparing for a rematch. She already ran against Wilson in 2021, but lost a run-off election by fewer than fifty votes. Chandler told APR on Thursday that her first priority if elected will be “ensuring that District 1 residents have a strong voice in city government.”
Asked about why she chose to run again, Chandler said “there wasn’t just one moment that made me decide to run for City Council again, it was the ongoing neglect of District 1 and the challenges our residents continue to face.”
“Councilman Wilson has had four years to bring real improvements to District 1, but many of the issues residents have been concerned about—like infrastructure neglect, lack of economic development, and inconsistent city services—remain unaddressed,” she wrote. “While he has been present in the community, there has been a lack of strong, proactive leadership to push for real change.”
APR also reported this past May that Labor Notes reporter, Luis Feliz Leon, was told by a Mercedes employee that Wilson had disparaged Martin Luther King Jr. during an anti-union junket at the Tuscaloosa County facility. Wilson strongly disputed these accusations. Additionally, the city councilor recorded a video arguing against unionization that Mercedes sent to workers in the lead-up to the election.
Asked about Wilson’s decision to help Mercedes during the union organizing campaign, Chandler said it is “deeply disappointing to have a leader who stands against workers and unions, especially in a time when people are fighting for fair wages, job security, and dignity in the workplace.”
“Leadership isn’t about siding with big corporations,” she continued. “It’s about ensuring that every worker has the right to fight for better conditions without fear.” Chandler touts her support for unionized AT&T workers during the month-long strike last year.
Chandler also said she supports a “balanced approach” to the city council’s oversight of new student housing projects, a volatile topic in Tuscaloosa politics given the University of Alabama’s ongoing growth. The current city council last extended a ban on building new large student housing developments in 2021. Que says “if a new moratorium is proposed, I would carefully evaluate it based on community needs, infrastructure capacity, and input from residents.”
Joe Eatmon
As a first time candidate for public office, Joe Eatmon’s campaign remains somewhat more nebulous. The dean of community relations at Tuscaloosa-based community college Shelton State, Eatmon told APR in an interview last week that as a Tuscaloosa native he “just felt really inclined to run for the last three years.”
His campaign website highlights seven main policy pillars: “building better schools, creating safer communities, creating new jobs, business and housing opportunities, improving our infrastructure, prioritizing our seniors, and increasing community engagement.”
Eatmon told APR that if elected the “number one priority right now would be attacking the crime issue, coming off a year where we’ve had a record number of homicides.” One of his specific policy proposals, meant to address recruitment issues the Tuscaloosa police department is facing, is for the city to help fund a dual enrollment criminal justice program for local high school students.
On the phone with APR, he also seemed especially enthusiastic about addressing what he called the creation of “more blight in the district” by the city’s recent attempts to address blighted properties.
“We’ve got a big push to remove blighted property,” Eatmon said. “Which, they’ve removed a lot of properties, but there’s been no vision for what to do with empty lots.”
“So if you drive around our district right now, you’ve got empty lots with overgrown grass,” he continued. Eatmon proposed that the city should “incentivize developers to build on those lots” and consider working directly with developers by providing low interest loans to help address the problem.
When queried about the potential for future moratoriums on student housing, he said he doesn’t have a stance on the issue yet but does think “creating opportunities and housing for everyone” is essential for District 1, including building new affordable, mid-income, and high income homes.
Matthew Wilson
While both challengers seem to have deep connections to the community, and Chandler already has experience campaigning, political folk wisdom says the incumbent, city councilor and reverend Matthew Wilson, should still be favored to win.
In an email to APR, Wilson said that “since being elected in 2021, I have prioritized expanding infrastructure, recreation, economic growth, and community development in District 1.”
He also listed his perceived successes, namely “infrastructure improvements, recreation expansions, economic and industrial growth, community development, and health and safety initiatives.” Wilson specifically highlighted upgrades to the Tuscaloosa National Airport, renovations of affordable housing projects, and improvements at local parks.
In a subsequent email, Wilson pointed to his experience as one reason besides his past performance for why he should be re-elected in March. “As I bid for re-election, I renew my unwavering commitment to bringing my proven leadership and experience to address the critical issues impacting our community,” Wilson affirmed. “Experience is essential when tackling complex challenges like safety, economic development, city code enforcement, and long-term planning.”
The odds of a run-off
In Tuscaloosa, a city council election proceeds to a run-off with just the top two vote-getters competing if no single candidate commands a majority of the vote. Four years ago, the two candidates running against Matthew Wilson—Katherine Waldon and Que Chandler—got over 55 percent of the vote together, but Wilson ended up victorious in the run-off election just featuring Chandler and Wilson a couple months later.
None of the three currently campaigning in District 1 admitted to being all that worried about the potential for a run-off though, or the three-way race more generally.
According to Eatmon, “splitting the vote is not a concern” of his, and he just wants voters in District 1 to show up and vote. Chandler similarly said she “can’t predict how things will unfold” this election cycle but remains “incredibly proud of how close we came in the last election, especially with fewer resources.”
Wilson told APR he “value[s] all of the residences [sic] in district 1 and applaud any exercise of their civic and constitutional rights.” He also emphatically stated that neither he or his campaign staff will “practice negative comments” about the other candidates.
Tuscaloosa’s municipal elections will be held on March 4. Polls will be open between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., and the addresses of polling places are available on the city of Tuscaloosa’s website. If any runoff elections are required, which seems like a distinct possibility in the District 1 race, they will be held on April 1.
