SPEAKIN’ OUT NEWS
(ABOVE) Huntsville City Councilwoman President Jennie Robinson and (BELOW) business owner, Liliana Peinder, will meet in a Sept. 22 runoff after neither received a majority in the Aug. 25 municipal election in the District 3 City Council race.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Huntsville voters will return to the polls Tuesday, Sept. 22, to decide the City Council District 3 race after the City Council certified the Aug. 25 municipal election results and confirmed that no candidate won a majority.
Incumbent Council President Jennie Robinson led the three-candidate contest with 2,778 votes, or 47.91%, but fell short of the more than 50% required to win outright. Liliana Peinder received 1,778 votes, or 30.66%, and advanced to the runoff. John Stuart finished third with 1,234 votes, or 21.43%.
The runoff gives South Huntsville voters the final say in who will represent District 3 as the area continues to grow residentially and commercially. Robinson was first elected to the Council in 2014 after serving three terms on the Huntsville City Schools Board of Education. Peinder, a Huntsville City Schools translator and small-business owner, is seeking to unseat her.
Municipal offices shape decisions involving roads, zoning, city spending, parks, public safety and neighborhood services. A total of 12,989 ballots were cast across the Aug. 25 council and school-board contests, representing 12.67% of 102,489 registered voters in Districts 2, 3 and 4. That was an increase from 11.53% turnout in the comparable 2022 election. District 3 helped drive the participation gain, with several precincts exceeding 20% turnout. Still, runoff elections can draw fewer voters because fewer races appear on the ballot, making voter participation especially important in determining the final result.
The certified results also confirmed winners in four other contested races. In City Council District 2, incumbent David Little defeated Thomas Casez, 3,090 votes to 1,604. In District 4, incumbent Bill Kling won with 1,617 votes, ahead of Will Pylant with 614 and Nick Frevold with 203.
For the Huntsville City Schools Board of Education, District 2 incumbent Holly McCarty defeated Matt Woolsey, 3,010 votes to 1,631. In District 3, Payten Redfearn defeated Robert “Coach P” Person, 3,416 votes to 2,256. Ryan Renaud, who was unopposed for the District 4 school-board seat, was declared the winner in July.
The City listed Sept. 7 as the online voter-registration deadline and Sept. 4 as the in-person deadline for the runoff. Remaining absentee deadlines include 5 p.m. Sept. 15 to apply by mail and 5 p.m. Sept. 17 to apply in person. Non-emergency absentee ballots must be hand-delivered by 5 p.m. Sept. 21 or postmarked by Sept. 21. Mailed ballots must arrive by noon Sept. 22. Emergency absentee ballots are also due by noon on Election Day.