Guntersville mayoral race heats up before next week’s runoff

GUNTERSVILLE – With less than a week until Guntersville’s mayoral runoff, 256 Today sat down with both candidates to discuss the tie, their priorities for the city, and whether partisan labels belong in a municipal race.

After election night ballots, including provisional ballots, were counted, Mayor Leigh Dollar and challenger Jeff McLaughlin each ended with 1,065 votes, forcing next Tuesday’s runoff. Voter registration and absentee ballot deadlines are Thursday.

Dollar, first elected in 2012, is seeking a fourth term. McLaughlin, a local attorney, served as a state representative for Alabama House District 27 from 2001–10.  

On the tie

A tie is rare but not unheard of in Guntersville politics. Both Dollar and McLaughlin said it shows just how engaged the community is.

Dollar noted this is the second time in recent decades the city has faced such a razor-thin outcome. 

“Every vote is so important,” she said. “I did not want to be the poster child of being every vote counts, but here we are.”

McLaughlin said he sees it as part of the process. 

“I started out with zero votes. So the fact that I got to 1,065, I was gaining ground every week,” he said. “I’m thankful to be in a tight position and now here we are in a runoff.”

Top priorities for Guntersville

Both candidates spoke about growth, quality of life, and balancing city resources, but their fiscal priorities diverge.

Dollar emphasized continuing upgrades to aging facilities, noting that most city buildings are 40–50 years old.

“We have done a great job at renovating and updating those and we’re continuing to work on that,” she said.

She also pointed to Guntersville’s formal paving plan and ongoing drainage improvements.

“Infrastructure is always an issue,” she said, “but we’ve worked very hard to try to eliminate the worst parts.”

McLaughlin, while supportive of many improvements, voiced concern about the city taking on too much debt at once.

“I don’t find fault with the improvements, but they’re very expensive,” he said. “I would prioritize differently, toward public services, infrastructure, and making sure our firefighters and police are paid competitively so we can keep experienced people here.”

He noted that Guntersville often loses trained officers to larger nearby cities. 

“We invest in their training, and then after 10 or 15 years they can leave for Huntsville or Madison where the pay is higher. We can’t afford to be a training ground, we need to keep our best people here,” he said.

Education is also central to McLaughlin’s platform. He cited his work on the Education Trust Fund Committee during his legislative tenure and argued that strong schools are the foundation of Guntersville’s future.

“If our schools are thriving, the city is thriving,” McLaughlin said. “Families want to move where there are great schools, and businesses want to invest where there are great schools. That has to be our top priority.”

Unity moving forward

With a deadlocked electorate, both Dollar and McLaughlin agreed that uniting Guntersville after the election is critical.

“This would be my fourth election, so I have had to unite the city in years past,” Dollar said. “Unity benefits all citizens. It does not help when we are a divided city.”

McLaughlin echoed that point, noting that neither he nor Dollar had run negative campaigns. 

“Whoever wins needs to spend time on uniting the city,” he said. “Let’s talk about what’s good for Guntersville and what we want to see done differently. This is not a Republican or Democrat issue. I’m running as a ‘G’ about Guntersville.”

Do partisan politics belong in a municipal race?

Recently, McLaughlin has been described as the “second most liberal lawmaker in Alabama” during his time in the Legislature.

Dollar said it’s ultimately up to voters to decide whether partisan labels matter.

“For municipal races, they are nonpartisan,” she said. “My perspective and my campaign have always been nonpartisan, and we will continue with that. I’ve read some of those articles, but that’s not for me to decide. That’s for the voters to decide whether it matters.”

McLaughlin rejected the characterization, calling it misleading.

“I’m simply going to say that’s not correct,” he said. “I’ve seen so many things misrepresented on Facebook and elsewhere. It takes time to sort out lies like that, and I am calling them lies because that’s what they are. But I’m going to rise above it. The people who know me know what my priorities were. Tell me how protecting the Tennessee River was a Republican or Democrat issue. Tell me how getting TVA money back to TVA counties was a partisan issue. Tell me how working for public education was partisan.

“I have always been about trying to represent the people of this area the best I possibly could.”

What comes next

Tuesday’s runoff will determine who leads Guntersville into its next four years. Both Dollar and McLaughlin urged residents not to miss their chance to cast a ballot.

“Your vote does matter,” Dollar said.

McLaughlin agreed, sharing the story of a supporter who couldn’t make it inside the polling place due to back pain. 

“She literally was 100 feet from the voting box but had to give up. She told me, ‘I’ll be there this time,’” he said. “That shows how much every single vote counts.”