Tommy Battle, mayor of Huntsville, touts an impressive record as the chief administrator of the Rocket City, but now he wants to take his experiences and accomplishments to Montgomery.
The three-term Republican mayor of Alabama’s fourth-largest city announced his candidacy for governor of Alabama on April 27 and has since been making campaign stops across the state, including a quick visit to Russellville on June 11.
“We’re not just in a battle for Alabama’s values, we’re in a battle for Alabama’s future. I’m running for governor because I’m ready to lead that fight,” Battle said in a campaign press release.
Battle was first elected in 2008 and since he took the oath, Huntsville has become one of the fastest growing and most prosperous cities in the state.
“We’ve been able to add 17 thousand jobs and we’ve grown with over two billions dollars invested in expansion,” Battle told the Franklin Free Press. “As we’ve worked for this city, we want to bring the same job creation and prosperity to the state of Alabama.”
Battle says jobs are the number one issue in his campaign, and, if elected, job creation would be a top priority.
“The key issue is jobs and standard of living,” he said. “The prosperity that we’ve been able to achieve in Huntsville, that’s what we want to bring to every city and town and county in Alabama. We’ve done it in the past and we can piggyback off that and bring it to the state level.”
But in order to create jobs, Battle says education and infrastructure must also be at the forefront.
“In order to have jobs, you have to have a great education system and you have to have infrastructure,” he said. “Great schools lead to great students which lead to a larger and more educated workforce. And obviously you have to have roads and transportation in order for people to get to work and go where they need to go.”
When it comes to education, Battle says he is a supporter of public schools.
“I’m a public school guy. My education is from a public school and a public university,” he said. “We have to have great public school systems, and anything that the state does that detracts from that, to me, is wrong.”
Public school systems and good ones, according to Battle, are a major factor when wooing industry and investment.
“As mayor of Huntsville, I’ve had a lot of meetings with people from all types of industries looking to make an investment in our city,” he said, “and they don’t ask about private schools or charter schools; they ask about the public school system.”
By having a great public school system, Battle says it has the two-fold effect of educating students and bringing in more jobs.
“These industries want to invest in places with great public school systems because that’s where the employees will be sending their kids,” he said. “And the following effect is that these industries will have a more educated, more qualified pool of candidates that are coming out of the public school system.”
Since taking office, Huntsville has spent 250 million dollars on new education facilities and the school system erased a debt of nearly 20 million dollars in 2010 to a current surplus of around 40 million dollars in 2016.
Aside from jobs, infrastructure and education, Battle wants to bring an openness to Montgomery that he says has not been there in many years.
“(In Huntsville) we’ve been an open and transparent government that tells the people what we want to do and how we want to do it,” he said. “They need to know that you have a plan and that you’re willing to do what it takes to accomplish it. By being honest and open, you give the people the opportunity to buy in to what you’re doing.”
And with the numerous scandals and allegations of misconduct that have rocked Montgomery recently – former Governor Robert Bentley’s resignation, former House Speaker Mike Hubbard’s imprisonment, and Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore’s suspension – Battle says that transparency and honesty at the capitol is needed now more than ever.
“We need to restore confidence in our state leaders,” he said. “With all of the things that have happened in the last year, we need elected state officials that the people can trust and believe in.”
If he were elected, Battle would be the first mayor in Alabama history to be elected governor, but he believes his experience, as mayor would translate well at the state capitol.
“Mayors are down on the front line every day and we can’t run away from our problems,” he said. “As the mayor, I see people at the store, in restaurants, at church and they want to give you their feedback.”
“You don’t run for mayor or governor for yourself. You spend 365 days a year working on ways to help the people. If you’re not in it for the people, you shouldn’t be running,” he added.
For any skeptics, Battle says to ask around and check his record.
“Talk to the people I’ve worked with, talk to people in Huntsville. That’s where you can get a true picture of a person,” he said. “I’ll say of all the people running and probably those that will run, I’m the only one that has done what I’ve said I’ll do.”
“It’s an honor to run for governor. There’s a lot that we can accomplish and a lot we can do to turn Alabama from a good state to a great state. That’s what it’s all about,” he added.
Battle’s campaign website is tommybattle.com. Alabama’s next gubernatorial general election will be held on November 6, 2018.
