Tommy Battle
Tommy Battle was a Republican Party candidate for governor of Alabama in the 2018 election.
Battle is mayor of Huntsville, Ala. He was first elected in 2008 and won a second term in the 2012 municipal election.
Career
Battle was born in Birmingham, Ala. in 1956 and moved to Huntsville, Ala., in 1980 after earning a business degree from the University of Alabama. He was the manager of Britling's Buffet, a local restaurant that he later purchased. He sold Britling's Buffet in 1989.[1][2]
Battle was elected to the City Council of Huntsville in 1984 and served as finance chair. He served as chairman of the board of Early Works, a Huntsville-based group of history museums. Battle also served on the boards of the Huntsville solid waste disposal authority and Huntsville Emergency Medical Services, Inc (HEMSI).[1][3]
Mayor of Huntsville
Battle became Mayor of Huntsville in 2008 after defeating three-term Mayor, Loretta Spencer, in the election. A former city councilman said that Battle "deserves credit for making the tough decisions needed to weather the economic crisis" that began during his first term. For instance, Battle "declared a hiring freeze on all city government jobs, slashed spending on the public library and other agencies, and used some of the city's emergency savings" when sales tax receipts declined in 2009.[4]
In 2012, Battle won re-election for another four-year term in what a local paper called the "most lopsided mayoral victory in modern Huntsville history." Battle had defeated Spencer a second time with 80.7 percent of the vote. That year he also participated in George Washington University's "GW Moving the Planet Forward Innovation Summit" where he discussed his environmental policies. Under his tenure as mayor, Standard & Poor's Rating Services and Moody's Investors Service assigned a "AAA" bond rating to the city of Huntsville.[5][6][7][2]
In October 2013, Battle formed the Moving Alabama Forward PAC. He said the funds would be used to "focus on the future of Huntsville, and how Huntsville relates to the rest of the state" and not for any aspirations he might have about seeking a higher office. He announced in early 2014 that he would not run for Governor of Alabama that year.[8][9]
Top influencers by state
- See also: Top influencers by state
Influencers in American politics are power players who help get candidates elected, put through policy proposals, cause ideological changes, and affect popular perceptions. They can take on many forms: politicians, lobbyists, advisors, donors, corporations, industry groups, labor unions, single-issue organizations, nonprofits, to name a few.
In 2015, Ballotpedia identified Tommy Battle as a top influencer by state. We identified top influencers across the country through several means, including the following:
- Local knowledge of our professional staff
- Surveys of activists, thought leaders and journalists from across the country and political spectrum
- Outreach to political journalists in each state who helped refine our lists
Campaign themes
2018
Campaign website
Battle's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
If you have been in Montgomery 30 years you are part of the problem, not the solution. I have not been in Montgomery the last three decades, nor have I spent my days flying around on a jet for ribbon cuttings; however I have been a small business owner, and I am still to this day. I understand the issues facing our business community, and I understand that getting Montgomery off our backs, out of our pockets and eliminating government regulations will allow our business community to thrive. As Mayor, I understand local issues facing our communities are solved best locally, not sitting in Montgomery. I have already visited Alabama’s 67 counties during my campaign, and that will not stop if elected. As your next governor, I will be in every county, every year.
For too long the great state of Alabama has been faced with corruption instead of opportunity, scandal instead of education and embarrassment instead of pride. I am tired of Alabama being first in political corruption and last in education. This is failed leadership. Alabama is a great state, but the time has come for new leadership outside of Montgomery. No more insider protection, no more backroom deals. Our leaders have failed us. Politicians talk; leaders get things done. Join me in helping make Alabama a leader!
My wife Eula was an educator for more than 30 years. She co-founded Free 2 Teach, a non-profit dedicated to providing school supplies to thousands of teachers. Each teacher leaves the organization with an average of $505 in free classroom resources. I have spent many nights at the dinner table hearing first-hand accounts of how our state education system is failing our students, and restricting our teachers. I saw the issues as Mayor. I addressed our challenges by working with our local educational leaders to hire a world-class superintendent, implement accountability and continue to stay focused on improvement. We have to create an environment that reduces the number of students in each classroom and most importantly, let teachers teach! Pre-K When first elected Mayor, I saw a problem with our Pre-K education system in Huntsville, and I set out to fix it. We didn’t wait on Montgomery to solve our problem. They are just now recognizing a strong start will lead to a strong finish. I have worked on this for ten years. My team had a successful Pre-K program without the State’s help, and we continue to operate our program today without any funding or assistance from the State. Charter Schools We all want the best education for our children, and you should have the ability to put your child in a school that best fits his or her needs. One size does not fit all. Charter schools will work in some areas, but it is important that their funding does not come at the sacrifice of our public education system.
Jobs and industry come to a community that invests in itself, provides an educated and skilled workforce and has a plan for the future. Once your community lays that groundwork for success, you see the results. I was able to accomplish this in Huntsville, and the results speak for themselves; Polaris: 2,000 jobs, GE Aviation: 300 jobs, Remington: 2,000 jobs, and most recently Toyota-Mazda: 4,000 jobs. I have successfully recruited over 24,000 new jobs to our area. 6 out of 10 jobs created in Alabama over the last decade have come out of my area, by my plan. Now, I’m ready to take this plan statewide. It’s time to create jobs and opportunity for all of Alabama. Several years ago, I received a call from my son, Drew; “Dad, I’m coming home.” That was a great call to receive as a parent because I knew Eula and I would get to go to dinner with Drew and his family, watch ballgames, and play with our grandson. But, as Mayor, I realized that Drew was coming home to Huntsville and bringing his wife Lauren and his son, our grandson, to raise his family. Drew was choosing Huntsville because we had created an opportunity and quality of life that did not exist here before. Had we not taken on the issues of education, invested in roads and bridges and recruited jobs to our area, its likely I would never have received that call. We have a plan that works, we want to take that plan to Montgomery so those calls take place everyday, in every county across this State.
Workforce Development starts with education. It’s establishing career academies in our high schools, its providing more opportunities for dual enrollment, it’s getting our community college systems offering programs and training to fill the jobs of today and tomorrow. But it is also about supporting existing industry. We must continue to train a workforce that will allow that industry to grow, thrive and stay in your community!
We must work to create jobs for residents in rural counties by targeting industries that locate in rural areas. The local communities must take an active leadership role by identifying Advantage Sites. I will create an economic development agency with a strategic plan to market to those companies while ensuring they have engaged community partners like electrical co-ops and community colleges. That will provide the resources and skills training for the residents to service those very jobs. The counties can then partner with the State to bring their projects to fruition.[10] |
” |
| —Tommy Battle’s campaign website (2018)[11] | ||
Elections
2018
- See also: Alabama gubernatorial election, 2018
General election
General election for Governor of Alabama
Incumbent Kay Ivey defeated Walt Maddox in the general election for Governor of Alabama on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Kay Ivey (R) | 59.5 | 1,022,457 |
 | Walt Maddox (D) | 40.4 | 694,495 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 2,637 | ||
| Total votes: 1,719,589 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Governor of Alabama
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Governor of Alabama on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Walt Maddox | 54.6 | 154,850 |
 | Sue Bell Cobb | 29.0 | 82,236 | |
 | James C. Fields | 8.0 | 22,683 | |
 | Anthony White | 3.4 | 9,719 | |
 | Doug Smith | 3.3 | 9,274 | |
 | Christopher Countryman | 1.7 | 4,943 | |
| Total votes: 283,705 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Governor of Alabama
Incumbent Kay Ivey defeated Tommy Battle, Scott Dawson, Bill Hightower, and Michael McAllister in the Republican primary for Governor of Alabama on June 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kay Ivey | 56.1 | 331,739 |
 | Tommy Battle | 24.9 | 147,207 | |
 | Scott Dawson | 13.5 | 79,546 | |
 | Bill Hightower | 5.0 | 29,367 | |
| Michael McAllister | 0.6 | 3,340 | |
| Total votes: 591,199 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Slade Blackwell (R)
See also
| Alabama | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
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External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Alabama.gov
- The City of Huntsville
- Campaign website
- Tommy Battle on Facebook
- Tommy Battle on Twitter
- Early Works
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 HunstvilleAL.gov, "Mayor Tommy Battle," accessed November 5, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 HuntsvilleAL.gov, "Office of the Mayor," accessed November 5, 2015
- ↑ Early Works, "About Us," accessed November 5, 2015
- ↑ AL.com, "Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle: A look at his first year in office," November 2, 2009
- ↑ AL.com, "Anatomy of a landslide: How Tommy Battle won a second term as Huntsville mayor," August 29, 2012
- ↑ Planet Forward, "Summary of Innovation Summit," April 20, 2012
- ↑ AL.com, "Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle to be featured at Washington, D.C. 'Innovation Summit'," April 13, 2012
- ↑ Al.com, "Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle says his new 'Moving Alabama Forward PAC' not related to possible run for higher office," November 14, 2013
- ↑ WHNT News 19, "Mayor Tommy Battle Says He’s Not Running for Governor," January 14, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Tommy Battle's campaign website, “Issues,” accessed March 26, 2018
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