Walt Maddox
Maddox in 2011
36th Mayor of Tuscaloosa
Assumed office
October 3, 2005
Preceded byAl DuPont
Member of the Tuscaloosa City Council
from the 6th district
In office
October 1, 2001 – October 3, 2005
Preceded byClell Hobson
Succeeded byBob Lundell
Field Director of the Alabama Education Association
In office
1996 – 2001
Personal details
Born
Walter Thomas Maddox

(1972-12-27) December 27, 1972
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)
Robin Maddox
​
​
(m. 1998; div. 2008)​

Stephanie Roberts
​
(m. 2010)​
Children2
EducationUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham (BA, MPA)
WebsiteOfficial website

Walter Thomas Maddox (born December 27, 1972) is an American politician who has served as the 36th mayor of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, since 2005. From 2001 to 2005, he served on the Tuscaloosa City Council and as executive director of personnel for Tuscaloosa City Schools. Maddox was a field director for the Alabama Education Association from 1996 to 2001.[1]

Maddox was elected mayor of Tuscaloosa and has been reelected four times.[2] In 2018, he was the Democratic nominee for governor of Alabama, losing to incumbent Republican Kay Ivey.[3]

Early life and career

Maddox was born and raised in Tuscaloosa, attended the Tuscaloosa City Schools, and graduated from Central High School in 1991.[1] He attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he received a bachelor's degree in political science and a Master's in Public Administration.

From 1996 to 2001, Maddox served as a field director for the Alabama Education Association. In 2001, he was appointed executive director of personnel for Tuscaloosa City Schools, serving until he was elected mayor.[1][4] On August 28, 2001, Maddox was elected to the Tuscaloosa City Council, defeating incumbent Clell Hobson, 61% to 39%. He ran on a platform of education reform and crime reduction.[5]

Mayor of Tuscaloosa

In 2005, longtime Tuscaloosa mayor Al DuPont retired. Maddox was an underdog against former city councilman Sammy Watson. Maddox came in second place in the initial round of voting, receiving 31.1% to Watson's 38%.[6] This forced a runoff on September 13, which Maddox won with 54% of the vote to Watson's 46%.[7] Maddox was inaugurated on October 3 in front of Tuscaloosa City Hall.[8]

On August 25, 2009, Maddox was reelected without opposition.[9]

Maddox was reelected again without opposition on August 27, 2013.[10] On November 4, he was sworn in for his third term as mayor. Since his first inauguration, he has led initiatives to increase economic development, improve customer service with the implementation of Tuscaloosa 311 and provide quality pre-K education for academically at-risk four-year-olds.

For the first time since 2005, Maddox faced a challenger in the 2017 mayoral election. His opponent was the founder of the Urban Progressive Party, Stepfon Lewis.[11] Maddox defeated Lewis[12] with 89% of the vote to Lewis's 11%. He was sworn into his fourth term on May 22, 2017.

On March 2, 2021, Maddox was elected to his fifth term with 56% of the vote, defeating University of Alabama professor Serena Fortenberry and former University of Alabama football player Martin Houston.[13]

2011 Tuscaloosa tornado

On April 27, 2011, a large EF4 tornado struck Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, killing 44 people in Tuscaloosa County and inflicting $927 million in damage to the city. The tornado, part of the 2011 Super Outbreak, was the second significant tornado to affect the city that month, as an EF3 tornado struck a similar part of the city on April 15. On April 29, Maddox toured the April 27 tornado damage with public officials including President Barack Obama and Governor Robert J. Bentley.[14]

The tornado destroyed 12% of the city; it severely damaged or destroyed approximately 5,300 homes and businesses. Maddox was widely praised for his leadership in the aftermath of the storm.[15][16][17] The Wall Street Journal described the Tuscaloosa disaster response as an attempt to "courageously create a showpiece" of "unique neighborhoods that are healthy, safe, accessible, connected, and sustainable."[18]

Harvard Kennedy School crisis leadership fellow

Maddox is a fellow with the Program on Crisis Leadership at the Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.[19] He was promoted to senior fellow in the program in August 2019, and will partner with the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative's executive education courses to discuss lessons he learned during Tuscaloosa's tornado recovery efforts.[20]

2018 Alabama gubernatorial election

Walt Maddox For Governor Logo

On October 5, 2017, Maddox announced his plans to run for governor of Alabama, saying Republican leadership had failed the state, which "still ranks near the bottom in every quality-of-life indicator from education to healthcare."[21] He won the June 5 primary with 54.6% of the vote, defeating former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb. In November he lost to Republican incumbent governor Kay Ivey.

Maddox ran as a "pro-life," pro-Second Amendment candidate.[22]

Endorsements

Personal life

On December 27, 1998,[31] Maddox married Robin Maddox, a realtor. After having a daughter[32] together, they divorced in 2008.[31] On June 26, 2010, Maddox married Stephanie Nicole Roberts.[33] Their son was born in 2013.[32]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "About Mayor Maddox". waltmaddox. Archived from the original on 20 July 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  2. ↑ "Walt Maddox wins fourth term as Tuscaloosa mayor in election". 8 March 2017.
  3. ↑ Clemente, Christian (2018-06-06). "Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox wins Democratic nomination for governor - The Auburn Plainsman". Theplainsman.com. Retrieved 2020-05-27.
  4. ↑ "Maddox is new Mayor". The Tuscaloosa News. 12 September 2005. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  5. ↑ Bowen, Kevin. "Maddox unseats Hobson on City Council". tuscaloosanews.com. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  6. ↑ Stevenson, Tommy. "Watson, Maddox trade barbs". tuscaloosanews.com. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  7. ↑ "Tuscaloosa, AL Mayor - Runoff". ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  8. ↑ Taylor, Stephanie (4 October 2005). "Passing the Torch in Tuscaloosa". The Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  9. ↑ "Tuscaloosa, AL Mayor". ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  10. ↑ Lyons Yellin Digital Editor - The Tuscaloosa News. "Tuscaloosa municipal election results: Lee Garrison wins BOE chair". {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  11. ↑ Writer, Jason Morton Staff. "Tuscaloosa activist announces mayoral bid".
  12. ↑ source: http://abc3340.com/news/local/tuscaloosa-mayor-walt-maddox-wins-4th-term
  13. ↑ Digital, WVTM 13 (2021-03-03). "Tuscaloosa Mayoral Race: Walt Maddox reelected to fifth term". WVTM. Retrieved 2021-03-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ↑ Pasztor, Andy (30 April 2011). "Obama Keeps Recalling Images of Tuscaloosa". blogs.wsj.com. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  15. ↑ Severson, Kim; Brown, Robbie (10 May 2011). "Mayor's World Remade in an Instant". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  16. ↑ "Tuscaloosa Mayor Says Faith Helped After Tornado". npr.org. 9 May 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  17. ↑ Barkin, Robert. "2012 Municipal Leader of the Year: Building a championship team". americancityandcounty.com. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  18. ↑ Beito, David T (14 April 2012). "Tornado Recovery: How Joplin Is Beating Tuscaloosa". wsj.com. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  19. ↑ "Walter Maddox | Harvard Kennedy School". Hks.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2020-05-27.
  20. ↑ "Harvard names Tuscaloosa mayor senior fellow in crisis response program". Tuscaloosa News. 5 September 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-09-06.
  21. ↑ "Walt Maddox officially announces run for Alabama governor". 5 October 2017.
  22. ↑ Prickett, Sam (2018-11-02). "Maddox Defines Himself as Voice of Progress as Election Day Nears". BirminghamWatch. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  23. ↑ "Lars Anderson on Twitter".
  24. ↑ "Our View: Walt Maddox for Governor of Alabama - The Crimson White".
  25. ↑ "New South Endorses Maddox in Gubernatorial Primary". US News & World Report. 26 April 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  26. ↑ "Ron Sparks backs Walt Maddox in Democratic gubernatorial primary". May 2018.
  27. ↑ "2018 Endorsements". 16 May 2018.
  28. ↑ "Randall Woodfin endorses 'proven leader' Walt Maddox for governor". 18 May 2018.
  29. ↑ KIM CHANDLER. "ADC endorses Maddox in race for governor". Associated Press.
  30. ↑ "Walt Maddox endorsed by former state Sen. Roger Bedford for governor". 24 March 2018.
  31. 1 2 "Maddox files for divorce". tuscaloosanews.com. June 12, 2008. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  32. 1 2 Brown, Melissa (March 22, 2015). "Mayor Walt Maddox: Tuscaloosa's tornado-tested leader". al.com. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  33. ↑ "Walter Thomas Maddox and Stephanie Nicole Roberts". tuscaloosanews.com. December 15, 2010. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
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