Walt Maddox

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 present, he served on the Tuscaloosa City Council and served as executive director of personnel for Tuscaloosa City Schools. Maddox was a field director for the Alabama Education Association from 1996 to 2001.[1]

Walt Maddox
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
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)​
ChildrenTaylor Maddox, Eli Maddox
EducationUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham (BA, MPA)
WebsiteOfficial website

In 2005, he successfully ran for Mayor of Tuscaloosa and has been re-elected three times.[2] In 2018, Maddox was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Alabama, losing to incumbent Republican Kay Ivey in the general election.[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, Maddox was appointed executive director of personnel for Tuscaloosa City Schools, serving until his election as mayor.[1][4] On August 28, 2001, Maddox was elected to the Tuscaloosa City Council, defeating incumbent Clell Hobson, 61% to 39%. Maddox 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 re-elected without opposition.[9]

Maddox was re-elected again without opposition on August 27, 2013.[10]

On November 4, 2013, Walter Maddox was sworn in for his third term as Tuscaloosa’s 36th 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-old children.

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] by receiving 89% of the vote to Lewis's 11%. Maddox was sworn into his fourth term as Mayor on May 22, 2017.

2011 Tuscaloosa tornado
Further information: 2011 Tuscaloosa – Birmingham tornado

On April 27, 2011, a large tornado struck Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, killing 53 people in Tuscaloosa and inflicting $927 million in damage to the city. Two days later, Maddox toured the tornado damage with public officials including President Barack Obama and Governor Robert Bentley.[13] Mayor Maddox has been nationally recognized for his crisis management following the EF-4 tornado that destroyed 12 percent of the City and severely damaged or destroyed 5,300 homes and businesses. The New York Times stated that Maddox "emerged as an efficient, earnest, unwavering hero of the storm," and American City & County magazine named Maddox its 2012 Municipal Leader of the Year.[14][15][16] 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."[17] Mayor Maddox is currently serving as a fellow with the Program on Crisis Leadership at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.[18][19][20] He was promoted to senior fellow within the program in August 2019, where he will partner with the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative’s executive education courses to discuss lessons he learned during Tuscaloosa's tornado recovery efforts.[21]

2018 Alabama gubernatorial election
Main article: 2018 Alabama gubernatorial election
Walt Maddox For Governor Logo

On October 5, 2017 Maddox announced his plans to run for Governor of the state 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."[22] 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 was defeated by the Republican incumbent governor, Kay Ivey in the general election.

Maddox ran as a "pro-life," pro-Second Amendment candidate.[23]

Endorsements

Personal life

On December 27, 1998,[32] Maddox married Robin Maddox. After having one daughter, Taylor,[33] together, Walt and Robin divorced in 2008.[32] On June 26, 2010, Maddox remarried, to Stephanie Nicole Roberts.[34] Their son, Eli, was born in 2013.[33]

See also

References
  1. "About Mayor Maddox". waltmaddox. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  2. "Walt Maddox wins fourth term as Tuscaloosa mayor in election".
  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. 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".
  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. Pasztor, Andy. "Obama Keeps Recalling Images of Tuscaloosa". blogs.wsj.com. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  14. Severson, Kim; Brown, Robbie. "Mayor's World Remade in an Instant". nytimes.com. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  15. "Tuscaloosa Mayor Says Faith Helped After Tornado". npr.org. 9 May 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  16. Barkin, Robert. "2012 Municipal Leader of the Year: Building a championship team". americancityandcounty.com. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  17. Beito, David T. "Tornado Recovery: How Joplin Is Beating Tuscaloosa". wsj.com. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  18. "Walter Maddox". www.hks.harvard.edu.
  19. Mayor Maddox is currently serving as a fellow with the Program on Crisis Leadership at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
  20. "Walter Maddox | Harvard Kennedy School". Hks.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2020-05-27.
  21. "Harvard names Tuscaloosa mayor senior fellow in crisis response program". Tuscaloosa News. 5 September 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-09-06.
  22. "Walt Maddox officially announces run for Alabama governor".
  23. Prickett, Sam (2018-11-02). "Maddox Defines Himself as Voice of Progress as Election Day Nears". BirminghamWatch. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  24. "Lars Anderson on Twitter".
  25. "Our View: Walt Maddox for Governor of Alabama - The Crimson White".
  26. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/alabama/articles/2018-04-26/new-south-endorses-maddox-in-gubernatorial-primary
  27. "Ron Sparks backs Walt Maddox in Democratic gubernatorial primary".
  28. "2018 Endorsements". 16 May 2018.
  29. "Randall Woodfin endorses 'proven leader' Walt Maddox for governor".
  30. Press, KIM CHANDLER, Associated. "ADC endorses Maddox in race for governor".
  31. "Walt Maddox endorsed by former state Sen. Roger Bedford for governor".
  32. "Maddox files for divorce". tuscaloosanews.com. TuscaloosaNews.com. June 12, 2008. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  33. Brown, Melissa (March 22, 2015). "Mayor Walt Maddox: Tuscaloosa's tornado-tested leader". al.com. al.com. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  34. "Walter Thomas Maddox and Stephanie Nicole Roberts". tuscaloosanews.com. TuscaloosaNews.com. December 15, 2010. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
Political offices
Preceded by
Al DuPont		 Mayor of Tuscaloosa
2005–present		 Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by
Parker Griffith		 Democratic nominee for Governor of Alabama
2018		 Incumbent
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