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Walt Maddox
Walt Maddox (Democratic Party) ran for election for Governor of Alabama. He lost in the general election on November 6, 2018.
Maddox is the mayor of Tuscaloosa, Ala. First elected in 2005, Maddox began his third term in 2013. In 2011, Maddox received national attention for his management of the aftermath of major tornado damage in Tuscaloosa.
Career
Alabama Education Association
Maddox earned a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in public administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. After school, Maddox worked as a field director for the Alabama Education Association (AEA), an affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA), starting in 1996.[1][2]
Tuscaloosa City Schools
In 2001, Maddox was appointed executive director of personnel for the Tuscaloosa City Schools school district. Later in 2001, Maddox was elected to represent the sixth district of Tuscaloosa, Ala. on the City Council.[1][3]
Mayor of Tuscaloosa
In 2005, Maddox became the 36th Mayor of Tuscaloosa after six-term Mayor Al DuPont decided not to seek a seventh term. He resigned from his position at Tuscaloosa City Schools after he won the election. Maddox won re-election in 2009 and 2013.[4][1][5]
Maddox gained national attention for his role in recovery efforts after "tornadoes demolished one-seventh of his city" in 2011. Another media account reports, "Though Tuscaloosa's long-term recovery process has had its critics, Maddox emerged from the disaster beloved by his constituents, who saw a young and energetic leader guiding the traumatized community with a steady hand and calm disposition."[6][2][7]
Maddox serves as a fellow with the Program on Crisis Leadership at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, which aims to help "society improve its capacity to avert, mitigate, and respond to disaster and to develop resilience in recovery."[8][9][1]
American City & County named Maddox "2012 Municipal Leader of the Year" for his leadership during the recovery efforts following the tornadoes in 2011. He served as president of the Alabama League of Municipalities, a government-to-government lobbying association, in 2013.[7][10][11]
As part of a series of articles about Alabama mayors with a "bright political future," AL.com quoted a retired professor from the University of Alabama saying, "Maddox would make an attractive candidate for higher office."[2]
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. | ||||
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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. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Slade Blackwell (R)
Campaign themes
2018
Maddox’s campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Our state is in a crisis. It’s the same crisis we’ve been facing for the last seven years. Pretending everything is okay is not okay. If we don’t do something today, there will not be a tomorrow with safe infrastructure, access to healthcare, and good paying jobs. It’s time for a New Covenant between our leaders in Montgomery and the people they serve. A Covenant where our leaders wake up every day ready to fight for the people and not parties. Learn more about Walt on Ethics By placing results above rhetoric, we will forge a New Covenant that will make a real difference in the issues facing Alabamians. JOBS Today, 600,000 Alabamians are either unemployed or working in jobs that don’t match their skills or their needs. Making matters worse, over 100,000 Alabamians commute to other states for work. This trend must stop. Without better and higher paying jobs, our schools, health care, roads and bridges will never meet the standard we deserve. As Governor, we will make workforce training and development the cornerstone of rebuilding our economy to meet the 21st century. We will make college affordable in our state, providing all Alabamians with an opportunity to be career and/or college ready. GO DEEPER ROADS AND BRIDGES Alabama has nearly 102,000 miles of public roadways, and yet so many are deficient with nearly 50 percent rated as fair, poor, or very poor. Driving on badly maintained roads means more than $320 annually in vehicle operating costs alone for each Alabama citizen. More disturbing, unsafe roadways contribute to one-third of traffic deaths in Alabama. There are 16,000 bridges in Alabama and more than 20% are either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. Across our state, one in six drivers drive over these bridges daily. When our roadways and bridges are not safe, Alabamians are not safe, and new jobs will not come because they can’t pass along our roads to develop the industry. Alabamians are cut-off from the economy, health care, and ultimately, their future. We cannot ignore this problem any longer. As Governor, we will pass bipartisan legislation supported by the Alabama Alliance for Infrastructure and begin rebuilding Alabama’s roads and bridges. GO DEEPER HEALTHCARE Knowing all of this, Montgomery has refused to expand Medicaid which would have provided a $1.8 billion infusion into Alabama’s health care system by providing medical coverage for 331,000 working Alabamians, veterans, children and disabled. Instead, solely because of politics, medical care in Alabama has been vastly diminished and an opportunity to grow a new economy has been wasted. GO DEEPER EDUCATION The Alabama Education Lottery has four pillars: scholarships for higher education and workforce development, expansion of Pre-K, creation of the Promise Program to relieve funding inequities, and the creation of Community Innovation Grants for support programs that affect the quality of education. GO DEEPER |
” |
| —Walt Maddox’s campaign website (2018)[13] | ||
See also
| Alabama | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
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External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Alabama.gov
- Walt Maddox's Personal Website
- City of Tuscaloosa
- Walt Maddox on Twitter
- Alabama Education Association
- Tuscaloosa City Schools
- Alabama League of Municipalities
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 City of Tuscaloosa, "Mayor Walter Maddox," accessed November 9, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 AL.com, "Mayor Walt Maddox: Tuscaloosa's tornado-tested leader," March 22, 2015
- ↑ Tuscaloosa News.com, "Maddox unseats Hobson on City Council," August 29, 2001
- ↑ The Tuscaloosa News, "Mayor," September 14, 2005
- ↑ Tuscaloosa News.com, "Walt Maddox launches third campaign for mayor," June 27, 2013
- ↑ The New York Times, "Mayor’s World Remade in an Instant," May 9, 2011
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 American City & County, "2012 Municipal Leader of the Year: Building a championship team," November 28, 2012
- ↑ Harvard Kennedy School of Government, "About us," accessed November 9, 2015
- ↑ Harvard Kennedy School of Government, "People," accessed November 9, 2015
- ↑ Walter Maddox, "About," accessed November 9, 2015
- ↑ Alabama League of Municipalities, "Executive Committee 2015-2016," accessed November 9, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Walt Maddox, "The Issues," accessed November 1, 2018
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