Joe Eatmon Announces Candidacy For Tuscaloosa City Council District 1

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Shelton State Community College Dean of Community Relations Joe Eatmon on Monday announced his candidacy for the District 1 seat on the Tuscaloosa City Council.

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Eatmon is the second candidate thus far to announce plans to run for the District 1 seat, which is currently occupied by first-term incumbent Matthew Wilson. As Patch previously reported, community activist Que Chandler officially announced in November she would run for the seat.

A longtime educator and former head basketball coach at Shelton State, Eatmon says his campaign will focus on creating jobs, improving schools, and enhancing public safety.

“Our district deserves a leader who fights for what matters to the people,” Eatmon said during his announcement. “I will be a leader who shows up every day, in every room, for everyone.”

Eatmon is a 2001 graduate of Tuscaloosa’s Central High School, where he excelled in basketball and went on to play at Jones Community College in Mississippi and Bevill State Community College in Jasper, eventually earning a bachelor’s degree in physical education.

He later completed a master’s degree in teaching at the University of West Alabama while continuing his basketball career.

Eatmon’s professional career began as a teacher at Livingston High School and as a basketball coach at Linden High School before advancing to college coaching roles, including a decade at Shelton State.

His teams achieved a 100% transfer rate for his sophomores to four-year colleges during Eatmon's tenure and he was named Alabama Community College Conference Coach of the Year five times.

Eatmon also cited his community involvement, pointing out that he serves on the boards of the Blackburn Institute at the University of Alabama, Temporary Emergency Services, and the West Alabama Unity Foundation. He also holds roles with the City of Tuscaloosa Zoning Board of Adjustments and the Benjamin Barnes YMCA.

What's more, Eatmon has worked with the Re-enter and Re-claim nonprofit program that aims to help incarcerated youth earn educational opportunities, including the first detention center GED graduate in the program’s history.

“Our community’s future depends on a leader respected by their peers,” Eatmon said. “We need someone representing our district that the young people can look up to and our community knows has their best interests at heart.”

Eatmon says he is pursuing a doctorate in higher education. He and his wife, Erica, have three children, JJ, Jordyn, and Joi.

The Tuscaloosa municipal election is set for March 4, 2025.

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