Runoff likely in Huntsville City Council District 1 race

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — A runoff is likely between Michelle Watkins and incumbent Devyn Keith to win the race for Huntsville City Council District 1.

Three people were vying for the District 1 City Council seat with Watkins going up against two-term incumbent Devyn Keith and retired army colonel Reggie McKenzie.

According to unofficial results Watkins received 1963 votes compared to Keith’s 1619 votes and McKenzie’s 383 votes. You can see the full election results for Huntsville here.

The results come after only 7.9 percent of Huntsville residents voted in Tuesday’s elections.

Keith’s campaign released a statement Tuesday night saying he saying he is thankful for the support he has received but he has more work to do.

“I am so grateful for all of the love and support from our community throughout this election,” Keith said. “I’m proud of the campaign we have run so far, but I know that we have more work to do. I am the only candidate with a detailed plan for what the next four years will entail. We will continue to share our message about the incredible growth and prosperity we have achieved together in District 1. In the coming weeks, I am excited about the opportunity to make it abundantly clear why I am the best candidate to continue to lead District 1 forward.”

Watkins served on the Huntsville City School Board for eight years. She said her background in education and public service significantly shaped her decision to run for the Huntsville City Council.

Speaking to News 19 last week, Watkins said she hopes to bring changes to District 1.

“There’s a visible difference when you drive from South Huntsville to North Huntsville there’s a visible difference and there shouldn’t be a visible difference,” Watkins said. “We live in a city that’s prosperous and has a lot of great things going for it, so we should have a lot of great things going for District 1 as well.”

She has focused heavily on infrastructure needs in the district which she said also caused residents to feel overlooked.

“One of the most common concerns I hear from residents is about the infrastructure in our district,” Watkins said. “Many residents are frustrated by the lack of restaurants and shopping options, which contributes to a feeling of being overlooked and forgotten.”

She said to fix this she wants to actively promote and support the development of new businesses in the area in hopes of making a strong community hub.

Keith, a two-term councilman has served as council president in both 2018 and 2019. As part of his campaign, Keith said he wants to address commercial and retail development efforts in District 1 along with schools and redevelopment. He showed specific interest in supporting the Northern Bypass and Parkway Revitalization projects.

“These initiatives will produce fruit in the area of commerce and retail over the next few years as public and private investments are made in the district,” He said.

A runoff in the race will be on September 24.

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