Tommy Battle Explained

Tommy Battle
Office:67th Mayor of Huntsville[1]
Term Start:November 3, 2008
Predecessor:Loretta Spencer
Office2:Member of Huntsville City Council
from District 1
Term Start2:1984
Term End2:1988
Party:Republican
Birth Name:Thomas Massengale Battle Jr.
Birth Date:3 December 1955
Birth Place:Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
Children:1
Alma Mater:University of Alabama,
Tuscaloosa

Thomas Massengale Battle Jr. (born December 3, 1955) is an American businessman serving as the 67th mayor of Huntsville, Alabama. His first term began November 3, 2008, and he has since been reelected three times.[2] [3]

Early life and education

Battle was born in Birmingham, Alabama, on December 3, 1955. As a young man he worked for his father's restaurant and attended Berry High School (now Hoover High).

Battle attended the University of Alabama, in Tuscaloosa, to study business, where he participated in the Student Government Association and the debate team and joined the Alabama Republican Party.

After graduating college with a Bachelor of Science in business, Battle became a manager for Britling on the Highland in Birmingham. Battle moved to Huntsville in 1980, where he became a real estate developer and was elected to one term on the city council from 1984 to 1988. During this time, Battle met Eula Sammons, and his son Andrew was born. Battle left the city council to run for mayor, losing in a run-off against Democratic candidate Steve Hettinger in 1988.

After this election loss, Battle started Battle Real Estate and owned or partnered in several retail and real estate firms.[4]

Political career

Mayoral elections

2008 election

Battle announced his mayoral candidacy against incumbent Loretta Spencer on March 26, 2008. Battle's policies were fiscal responsibility, free enterprise, education, and creating jobs. Prior to the first round of voting, Spencer was endorsed by The Huntsville Times. The Committee of 100, a group of businesspeople, issued a joint endorsement of Battle and Spencer.

In the municipal election on August 26, 2008, Spencer led Battle by 14,871 votes to 14,486. However, two minor candidates received 673 votes, preventing Spencer from attaining a majority, forcing a runoff with Battle. In the runoff, on October 7, 2008, Battle defeated Spencer, by a vote of 21,123 votes (56%) to 16,821 (44%) for Spencer.

2012 election

On August 28, 2012, Battle won with 81 percent of the vote, beating Loretta Spencer and Jackie Reed. The 2012 election had the largest margin of victory in a Huntsville mayoral election. The voting results were as follows:[5]

He won in all 44 precincts citywide.[6]

2016 election

On September 23, 2015, Battle posted a statement confirming his running for a third term as mayor in 2016.[7] Battle later won against his opponents with 80% of the votes cast for him.[8]

2020 election

On August 25, 2020, Battle won reelection with 77.61% of the vote.[3]

Mayor of Huntsville

During his second term, Battle began the Restore Our Roads campaign and received a $250 million state roads package. To help fund the development, Battle proposed a one-cent sales tax. The city council approved the increase and Huntsville completed a $453 million construction project.[9]

In 2015, Battle asked the city to buy body cameras for the Huntsville Police Department, at a cost of $1.2 million.

In 2016, Battle supported the arrival of Google Fiber to Huntsville.[10]

Battle favored the city-wide of expansion of ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft in the city, and rewrote the vehicle for hire ordinance to allow their operation.[11] [12] [13]

In the December 2017 special election for the Senate, Battle endorsed former State Supreme Court Judge Roy Moore, saying "As a Republican, we were going to support whoever the Republican party nominated during our primary. The Republicans nominated Roy Moore."[14] [15]

In April 2018,[16] a rookie[17] Huntsville Police officer, William Darby, shot and killed a suicidal man within 11 seconds[18] of arriving at a call. In August 2018, Mayor Battle urged the Huntsville city council to pay or assist with paying for Darby's defense. The city paid $89,000 for his defense.[19] [20] In May 2020, Darby was found guilty of murder.[21] After the verdict, Battle released a statement[22] that he "disagree[d] with the verdict" and that "Officer Darby followed the appropriate safety protocols in his response on the scene." Darby was cleared of wrong-doing by the city police review board.[23] As a result, Darby was still paid by the city of Huntsville until late July.[24] On August 20, 2021, Darby was sentenced to 25 years in jail for the murder.[25] Battle pushed to prevent the bodycam footage from being released.[26] However, the footage of the murder was released on August 27, 2021.[27]

Fifteen Huntsville-area organizations,[28] including the Alabama chapters of Southern Christian Leadership Conference and NAACP Youth Council, have denounced Mayor Battle's handling of the George Floyd protest that occurred in and around Big Spring Park on June 3, 2020.[29] Huntsville Police along with SWAT and Incident Response Team[30] used tear gas, pepper spray, and rubber bullets to end the protest.[31] [32]

Controversy

Following the murder conviction of William Darby, political groups[33] and politicians[34] called for mayor Battle to resign.[35] Locals also made an online petition calling for the resignations of Battle and the Huntsville Police Chief Mark McMurray.

In May 2021, a Huntsville civil rights group, Rosa Parks Day Committee, also called for the resignations of Battle and McMurray. This came after both men publicly supported Huntsville Police Officer William Darby after his conviction for murder.[36] Mark McMurray announced his retirement in Feb 2022.[37]

2018 gubernatorial election

See main article: 2018 Alabama gubernatorial election. Battle unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination for governor of Alabama in 2018 as an "outsider" candidate; he lost in the Republican primary to incumbent Kay Ivey.[38] [39]

Battle has touted strong job growth under his tenure, as well as the city's top credit rating from credit rating agencies.[40] [41]

Personal life

Battle married Eula Sammons, a kindergarten teacher at Monrovia Elementary, in 1988 they had one son, Andrew Battle.[42] Sammons died on October 20, 2020, from breast cancer.[43] [44]

Battle is a member of the Trinity United Methodist Church.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Before 1916, the office was known as "President." Battle is the 11th to hold the title of "Mayor."
  2. Web site: Tommy Battle - Mayor of Huntsville, AL. 2020-08-26. Bama Politics. 23 October 2018. en.
  3. Web site: 2020 Huntsville, AL Mayor Election Results. 2020-08-26. Bama Politics. 20 November 2019. en.
  4. News: Meet Tommy – Battle For Alabama. Battle For Alabama. 2017-09-25. en-US.
  5. Web site: City of Huntsville, Alabama *** Huntsville *** Alabama *** HuntsvilleAL.gov. www.huntsvilleal.gov. 2016-03-31.
  6. Web site: Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle's 81 percent vote total a modern-day record. AL.com. 29 August 2012. 2016-03-31.
  7. Web site: Huntsville mayor Tommy Battle will run for re-election in 2016. AL.com. 24 September 2015. 2016-03-31.
  8. Web site: Huntsville Election Results. 2020-08-26. City of Huntsville. en.
  9. Web site: Mayor Battle touts job creation, entrepreneurs and Huntsville's quality of life in 2015 State of the City address. WHNT.com. 6 November 2015. 2016-03-30.
  10. Web site: Google Fiber is bringing its ultra-fast Internet service to Huntsville. AL.com. 22 February 2016. 2016-03-30.
  11. Web site: Uber ridesharing service not coming to Huntsville anytime soon. AL.com. 31 March 2015. 2016-03-30.
  12. Web site: Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle extends olive branch to Uber. AL.com. 12 June 2015. 2016-03-30.
  13. Web site: Huntsville City Council approves Uber ordinance. AL.com. 12 February 2016. 2016-03-30.
  14. Web site: Huntsville mayor endorses Moore for Senate. 21 October 2017. Waff.com. en-US. 2019-12-11.
  15. News: Tommy Battle responds to pushback at home for endorsing Roy Moore. Roop. Lee. 27 October 2017. 15 December 2017. AL.com.
  16. News: Beachum . Lateshia . Alabama police officer convicted of murder for shooting suicidal man in 2018 . 5 June 2021 . The Washington Post . 8 May 2021.
  17. News: Huntsville Police Officer William Darby takes stand in his murder trial . 5 June 2021 . CBS 42 . 6 May 2021.
  18. News: Huntsville Police Officer William Darby found guilty of murder . 5 June 2021 . WHNT News 19 . Nexstar Media Inc. . 7 May 2021.
  19. News: Huntsville says it has paid $89,000 for William Darby's murder defense, disciplinary hearing on indefinite hold . 5 June 2021 . WHNT News 19 . 20 May 2021.
  20. News: Torres-Perez . Alex . City won't say how it's paying for legal fees of Huntsville police officer convicted of murder . 5 June 2021 . WAAY 31 ABC . 18 May 2021.
  21. News: Remkus . Ashley . Huntsville police officer William Ben Darby convicted of murder for shooting Jeffery Parker . 5 June 2021 . The Huntsville Times . AL.com . 7 May 2021.
  22. News: Police Chief, Mayor release statements on Murder conviction of Officer Darby . 5 June 2021 . WHNT News 19 . 7 May 2021.
  23. News: Jury convicts Alabama officer of murder in 2018 shooting . 5 June 2021 . FOX News . 7 May 2021.
  24. News: Officer convicted of murder still gets paid in Alabama . 5 June 2021 . The Associated Press . 11 May 2021.
  25. News: Remkus . Ashley . William Ben Darby, Huntsville officer convicted of murder, sentenced to 25 years for shooting Jeff Parker . 20 August 2021 . The Huntsville Times . AL.com . 20 August 2021.
  26. News: Gattis . Paul . Huntsville city council, mayor's office at odds over police body cam video . 28 August 2021 . The Huntsville Times . AL.com . Jun 10, 2021.
  27. News: Remkus . Ashley . Judge releases video of Alabama police officer shooting and killing suicidal man . 28 August 2021 . The Huntsville Times . AL.com . 28 August 2021.
  28. News: Coalition of Huntsville-area groups respond to Mayor's statement on protest . 30 August 2021 . WZDX-TV FOX 54 . Fox News . 5 June 2020.
  29. News: UPDATED: Downtown Huntsville protest ends with riot gas, arrests . 30 August 2021 . WAFF 48 News . NBC . Gray Media Group, Inc . 4 June 2020.
  30. Lightfoot, Franklin & White, LLC . Report by Independent Counsel to The Huntsville Police Citizens Advisory Council . 22 April 2021 . 50 of 248 . 29 August 2021.
  31. News: Klapp . Caroline . Breakdown of 248 page report on Huntsville Police response to June 2020 protests . 30 August 2021 . WAFF 48 News . NBC . Gray Media Group, Inc. Station . 23 April 2021.
  32. News: Remkus . Ashley . Protest review finds 'unprofessional' behavior, policy violations by Huntsville police . 29 August 2021 . The Huntsville Times . 23 April 2021.
  33. News: Divers . Bridget . Civic group again calls for Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle's resignation . 29 August 2021 . WAAY 31 . ABC . Allen Media Broadcasting, LLC . 19 May 2021.
  34. News: Moon . Josh . State lawmakers, civil rights group renew calls for Huntsville mayor's resignation . 29 August 2021 . Alabama Political Reporter . 20 May 2021.
  35. News: Rosa Parks Day Committee again calls for Mayor Battle's resignation after statements made in support of convicted HPD officer . 29 August 2021 . WHNT News 19 . CBS . Nexstar Media Inc . 19 May 2021.
  36. News: Levenson . Michael . 2021-08-20 . Former Alabama Officer Is Sentenced to 25 Years for Murdering Suicidal Man . en-US . The New York Times . 2022-04-06 . 0362-4331.
  37. Web site: Montgomery . Charles . HPD Chief Mark McMurray announces retirement . 2022-04-06 . waff.com . 18 February 2022 . en.
  38. Web site: Battle loses primary.
  39. Web site: Tommy Battle stresses outsider status in race against Kay Ivey. Brian. Lyman. Montgomery Advertiser.
  40. Web site: No. 1: Huntsville, Alabama. www.kiplinger.com. en-US. 2016-03-31.
  41. Web site: Touting 16,000 new jobs, Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle kicks off reelection campaign. AL.com. 19 May 2016. 2016-05-23.
  42. Web site: About Mayor Battle. City of Huntsville. en-US. 2019-12-11.
  43. Web site: Roop. Lee. 2020-10-20. Eula Battle, wife of Huntsville mayor, dies at 65. 2020-10-21. The Huntsville Times/AL.com. en.
  44. Web site: Eula Battle, wife of Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, has died. Brandon. Moseley. October 21, 2020. Alabama Political Reporter.