Jesse Battles was sworn into office after the counting of provisional and write-in ballots at the Etowah County Courthouse Tuesday afternoon surrounded by friend, constituents` and new colleagues.
The District 10 state senator received an additional 28 votes from provisional ballots and 13 from write-in votes. Provisional ballots are a back-up option when voter eligibility is in question.
said one of his first priorities in office will be bringing Etowah County’s mayors and legislative delegation to work together to move Alabama forward, Battles said.
“The first thing I want to do is take all of our mayors down to Montgomery and work on getting the 759 (extension) completed,” Battles said. “I know that’s been in the works for a long time.”
Emphasizing the importance of cooperation among municipalities and the area’s legislative delegation, Battles said he believes a rising tide raises all boats and that’s what he intends on doing.
“I want to make sure that all of our mayors here have a voice, that they can see that we’re unified,” he said. “I want to bring unification to this area.”
Gadsden Mayor Craig Ford expressed optimism about working with Battles, describing his election as an opportunity for stronger communication between state and local governments.
“It’s a great day for Etowah County, the surrounding counties. We finally have a senator that will work with municipalities,” Ford said. “Government works from the bottom up, not from the top down.”
Having a state representation that listens to local communities, and participates in the daily operations, can make a difference when it comes to bringing new ideas to the community, Ford said.
He pointed out that Battles had attended a Gadsden City Council the day prior on his first day as senator. Ford said he sees it as an encouraging sign of a good working relationship between the city and state.
“It’s very refreshing to see that someone that ran a positive campaign win an election,” Ford said. “Negative politics is a thing of the past. Let’s talk about your record. You talk about who you are and what you’re going to do to help the people.”
In addition to Battles, write-in ballots were counted for District 6 Etowah County Commissioner Craig Inzer Jr. who, in a “clerical error” was left off the ballot for the Nov. 3 election.
