Joe Eatmon Unseats Wilson in Runoff for Tuscaloosa Council Seat

Challenger Joe Eatmon has unseated incumbent Matthew Wilson and won a four-year term on the Tuscaloosa City Council in a Tuesday runoff election.

The two men were competing for the District 1 seat on the council, representing citizens in the west end, along the southern banks of the Black Warrior River and around the Tuscaloosa National Airport.

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Wilson has held the seat for the last four years after serving a term on the Tuscaloosa City Schools board of education from 2017 until 2021.

Eatmon, who won the Tuesday election with over 58 percent of the vote, is the Dean of Community Relations at Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa and is working on his doctorate in higher education.

Sources for the campaign said he earned 582 votes against Wilson's 407.

Joe is married to Erica Eatmon and has three children JJ, Jordyn, and Joi. The Eatmons celebrated with supporters at Sanctuary on 25th Street Tuesday night.

"It's all worth it because we did it for the right reason," Eatmon said. "We did it to make this community better. We did it to fight for the people of District 1. We had no agenda, no ulterior motives. We just wanted to do good."

Eatmon will officially take office in May and said the real work of representing the area will begin in full when he does.