Tuscaloosa Mayoral Candidate Forum Pits Incumbent’s Experience Against Promise of Change

Both men running to be Tuscaloosa's mayor for the next four years made their pitch to voters Thursday night during a candidate forum which pit the incumbent's two decades of experience against his challenger's promises of change.

The event was hosted Thursday at Grace Presbyterian Church by the nonpartisan League of Women Voters of Greater Tuscaloosa, and most everyone there was familiar with incumbent Mayor Walt Maddox, who has held the seat since 2005 and was a city councilman for four years before that. Maddox is running for re-election seeking a sixth term in the mayor's office.

His only challenger this election cycle is Denson Ferrell II, a political newcomer who said he has spent the last 20-plus years working as a middle school teacher and a police officer for the city and said he also runs a ministry giving free haircuts to those in need.

Get our free mobile app

The mayor's case for re-election was built around the growth the city has seen in his two decades in office so far.

"20 years ago, when you elected me, Tuscaloosa had been stagnant. Its population growth, for two decades, had basically stayed even," Maddox said. "The fact that now we can focus on and talk about growth shows that we have leadership that is working. And it has worked through COVID-19, a tornado that destroyed 13 percent of our city and through the Great Recession. That in and of itself demonstrates that what we're doing is working and certainly I think gives us the best case for another four years."

Ferrell's pitch was that he represents a departure from the status quo.

"The reason why I'm running for mayor of this city is because I see that there needs to be change. There needs to be some accountability," Ferrell said. "It's not about me, it's about the community."

The format of the forum did Ferrell no favors, though - the incumbent Mayor was asked to introduce himself first, and a LWV moderator then asked Maddox to answer every one of the following 12 questions first. Maddox tried several times to pass the microphone to Ferrell and allow him the first shot at a response, but a moderator said for consistency, Maddox would answer first each time.

Questions from the League and others submitted by the audience covered how to manage the city's growth in years to come, the causes and potential solutions to the city's scourge of violent crime, the impact of potential cuts to federal funding to programs across the city, expansion of public transportation and more.

As a 20-year veteran of the office, Maddox was extremely well-equipped to talk comfortably about its complexities - from the multiple $100+ million infrastructure projects that are underway or coming soon, to the impact of Alabama's Simplified Sellers Use Tax on city finances, specific facts about public safety funding and more.

Responding second, if Ferrell felt comfortable enough with a question to answer it specifically, he was often left to concede that Maddox made good points before him. On unfamiliar issues like the SSUT, the funding structure of the Tuscaloosa Public Library and others, Ferrell said he would research them and try to do what's best for the city if elected.

Ferrell's strongest answers came in response to questions about education and crime - perhaps no surprise given his experience as a teacher and police officer - and he said those factors, along with how Tuscaloosa treats its less fortunate citizens, would be his key performance indicators if elected.

Asked why they chose to seek the office, the candidates again gave very different responses.

"I believe the reason why we've been so successful at the city of Tuscaloosa - not perfect, but successful - is because we've always told you what we believe to be the truth, and we've always tried to work in the best interest of every single citizen," Maddox said. "In Tuscaloosa, we have 113,000 people that stretch over 71 square miles. And the needs in South Tuscaloosa are so different than the needs in North Tuscaloosa, the needs of West Tuscaloosa, the needs of East Tuscaloosa. And one of the unique responsibilities of a mayor, besides overseeing a billion-dollar organization, is taking those needs and putting it all together while moving our city forward."

Maddox said he believes he has raised the expectations about what Tuscaloosa can do and be, and said he's never embarrassed his constituents.

"Hopefully, I have served you with honor and honesty and dignity and conviction and passion," Maddox said. "If elected for the next four years, you're going to get that same level of commitment that I believe I've provided over the past twenty."

Ferrell's closing statement was far shorter.

"I feel like there is a need for change. I've worked in this city for many years and there are some things that need to be changed," Ferrell said. "I don't think that as a community, as a whole, in Tuscaloosa, that we have served everyone. And I think that I'll be able to serve everyone, not just some portions of our community."

Tuscaloosa's municipal elections will be held on March 4, 2025. Check out our coverage hub for those races here.

Almost all other Alabama municipalities including Northport will host their own elections later in the year, on August 26, 2025.

For updates on those races and more, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.