Michelle Watkins victory in Huntsville Council District 1 is historic, Keith saw sharp drop in support

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. ( WHNT ) — The Huntsville City Council District 1 runoff saw history made as Michelle Watkins became the first Black woman to be elected to the council.

Watkins defeated two-term incumbent Councilman Devyn Keith, winning 54% of the vote Tuesday night.

Watkins addressed supporters after the vote totals were announced.

“It is with profound gratitude and immense pride and a heart full of hope that I address you as the first Black woman elected to the Huntsville City Council,” Watkins said.

Watkins built on her strong showing in the general election where she finished first but didn’t quite meet the threshold of votes needed to avoid a runoff.

Keith finished second in the general election and received 288 more votes than in the first round, but Watkins also drew more supporters to the runoff, adding 311 votes Tuesday. Watkins got 2,278 votes to Keith’s 1,910.

Tuesday also saw more voters – 4,188 – cast ballots, in the runoff than in the general election. The Aug. 27 general election saw 3,973 votes cast with a turnout figure of 7.9%, and Tuesday saw voter turnout at 10.9%. That general election turnout number included data from Council District 5 while Tuesday’s turnout was only in District 1.

News 19 ran the numbers and using the number of registered voters in District 1 from the runoff – 38,379 people – found that 10.4% of people in the district voted in the general election compared to the 10.9% that voted in the runoff.

It’s not clear what effect Keith’s 2023 guilty plea to misdemeanor theft charges had on his reelection bid, but he saw a sharp dip in support compared to his first two campaigns.

Keith won his two terms in 2016 and 2020 with much larger vote totals than he received during the runoff. In 2016 he got 2,521 votes, 69%, in defeating longtime incumbent Richard Showers. In 2020, Keith won without a runoff, getting 2,903 votes.

Watkins was able to increase her vote total and overcome the possible effect Reggie McKenzie’s endorsement of Keith had on the race. McKenzie finished third in the general election and last Friday urged his supporters to support Keith. McKenzie got 384 votes in August, Keith picked up 288 additional votes in Tuesday’s runoff.

In her remarks Tuesday night Watkins said her victory was a reflection of the progress Huntsville has made as a community, and she pledged to “work tirelessly to ensure that our policies and decisions reflect the needs and aspirations of every member of this community.”

Watkins expressed gratitude and pledged to go to work for the people.

“Thank you for believing in me, for standing with me and for being a part of this historic moment,” she said. “Together let us embrace this opportunity to create a Huntsville that we all can be proud of, a city where every dream is within reach and every voice gets heard.”

Keith issued a statement Tuesday night following the election, saying in part, “I have been and will always be an advocate for my community, so to those that support me, please know I’ll never stop fighting on your behalf. But now is the time to heal the district. We need to come alongside the new City Council representative, Michelle Watkins, and Board of Education representative, Chaundra Jones, to keep moving the district forward. We also must hold them accountable, because holding public office is a privilege that no one should take lightly.”

“All in all, I want to say thank you.”

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com.