Tuscaloosa City Council could set special election for soon-to-be vacant council seat after new council sworn in
New info. on empty city council seat in Tuscaloosa By Kelvin Reynolds | May 10, 2021 at 3:02 PM CDT - Updated May 10 at 5:30 PM
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - We asked Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox if there will be any disarray because people living in District 7 will not have a representative on the Tuscaloosa City Council for several months until a special election is called for later this summer.
“I think if it continues for a long time that could certainly contribute. I think that’s the thing where we need to be careful,” Mayor Maddox responded.
Some of the rules, some councilors now say, may be too strict.
“If you’ve got a speeding problem, you’ve got a speeding problem,” said District 5 Councilman Kip Tyner.
In 2011, the City Council signed off on a number of updated standards that must be met before city engineers would agree to install a new speed table.
These changes required residents seeking them to obtain signatures from 70% of their neighbors agreeing that the speed tables were wanted.
It also limited them to streets with speed limits of 30 mph or less, while requiring that at least 60% of vehicles driving in the requested area must exceed this speed limit and, of these speeders, at least 15% must exceed the speed limit by 10 mph or more.
A circuit court judge has vacated the results of the city of Tuscaloosa’s District 7 City Council results, clearing the path for a special election to determine who will hold this seat.
Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Robert S. Vance issued his decision Thursday, less than a week after final summary judgment arguments were submitted by attorneys for incumbent Councilor Sonya McKinstry and political newcomer Cassius Lanier, who won by 28 votes.
Days after her defeat, McKinstry filed a legal challenge to the election citing Lanier’s legal eligibility to hold the office based on his prior felony convictions and asked the court to name her the winner.