5 Candidates Qualify For Special Election To Fill Open Seat On Tuscaloosa City Council

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Five candidates have officially qualified to run in the Dec. 8 special municipal election for the open District 5 seat on the Tuscaloosa City Council.

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The qualifying period closed at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, setting the field for the election to fill the seat left vacant following the death of longtime Council President Kip Tyner in September.

The special election will be held Tuesday, Dec. 8, with polls open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. at Alberta Baptist Church, 2210 University Blvd. East.

If needed, a runoff will be held on Jan. 5, 2027.

The five candidates who qualified are:

• Al Sommerville III
• Bo Hicks
• Erica Grant
• Joe E. Cameron IV
• Thomas Sahm

District 5 includes Alberta and portions of east Tuscaloosa.

As Patch previously reported, Tyner died Sept. 18 at age 70 after representing District 5 since 1997 and serving seven terms on the City Council, which included two terms as council president.

Absentee voting for the special election begins Tuesday, Nov. 3, at 8 a.m. through the Tuscaloosa City Clerk's Office.

Voters must complete an absentee ballot application before receiving a ballot.

Applications are available in person at City Hall, by mail or through the City of Tuscaloosa's elections website.

The City Clerk's Office is located at Tuscaloosa City Hall, 2201 University Blvd.

Applications and other election correspondence may also be mailed to P.O. Box 2089, Attention: City Clerk, Tuscaloosa, AL 35403.

Free visitor parking is available in the downtown parking deck at 2230 Seventh St., with access to City Hall via the fourth-floor crosswalk.

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