FLORENCE — Former Florence Police Chief Ron Tyler has moved into a new chapter.
On Thursday, Tyler officially announced his run for mayor of Florence with a kickoff event and fundraiser at historic Pickette Place in downtown Florence.
This Lauderdale County city is the 11th-largest in the state, with a population of 42,437, according to the 2020 Census.
Tyler and his family have been Florence residents for over 32 years. He served in the Florence Police Department for 29 years, 12 as Chief of Police. He resigned from this position in April, citing some health challenges he needed to address and a desire to see the department in different hands.
The event, held from 5 to 7 p.m., was executed with panache. As Tyler and his family welcomed the local community into the storied space, local business Fourth Planet BBQ catered a traditional Southern barbecue of brisket, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, and baked beans.
Tyler, his wife Cassie, his sons Grant, AP and Jace, and other campaign volunteers greeted guests and mingled as dinner guests were served buffet style. Grant Tyler opened the business end of the evening with remarks about his father’s desire to build a better Florence.
“Being in Florence, there's so many things that he [Ron Tyler] tells me that we need, but we don't have. And he's saying we need these because he has a concern for our future, for his kids,” Grant Tyler said.
“But it's not only concern for his children, but the children of Florence," he added.
Grant Tyler affirmed that the campaign could use help from the community.
“We also need to work, and we also need to help. Better our future, our community, our people,” he ended.
Ron Tyler’s remarks were brief and primarily focused on his long-term vision for the Florence community.
“We know that this community, the city of Florence has a great deal of potential, untapped potential,” Ron Tyler said. “We are poised for great things. What it comes down to is city leadership creating the environment for us to have the success that we're capable of.”
Tyler borrowed from former University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban’s “5 Choices” speech in which the legendary coach compactly stated, "We can be bad, we can be average, we can be good, we can be excellent, or we can be elite." Saban affirmed that to be “excellent” or “elite” requires special things: special intensity, special focus, a special commitment, and drive and passion. Saban counseled that to be excellent or elite required, “we do things at a high level and a high standard all the time.”
Tyler continued, "So, our city leaders, if I use this analogy, can be one of five things. Our mayor can be one of five things. Tyler connected this to his '5 Core Strategies' that he wants to employ in order to move Florence into greatness, excellence and elite status.
Workforce, Economic and Business Development.
Tyler teased the ability to help shore up business and improve coalitions that attract business to the region. He lamented that his oldest son and his wife recently had to move out of the state because there was no work for him in Florence.
“I can count about $100 billion that we've spent in this city or are about to spend, yet I'm still moving my son off to Kansas City to get a job," he explained.
Infrastructure Expansion and Development
“When you think about our… just not our roadways, but our water and our sewer and our Internet here, our city could be bad, average, good, excellent or elite in those," Tyler said. “And I want to be the kind of leader that helps us become excellent or elite.”
Public Safety
“I know what it takes to be excellent in public safety. I have a family member—a new family member now—who's a fireman, and I want to make sure that we hire the best, we train them the best, and we equip them with the best," he stated.
Financial Accountability
“Accountability would be my fourth core strategy, and I say accountability, not responsibility,” Tyler clarified.
“We all expect us to be responsible with our finances and I want us to be accountable financially," he continued. "I want to be able as a mayor to provide an account for every dollar of revenue that comes in, and be accountable for every dollar that's spent. I think the community expects us to have good, solid stewardship of dollars.”
Community Identity
“There’s a reason you all live here in Florence, it’s because you know how good our community is, and how influential it is," Tyler outlined. "There’s a reason you're here. So, we don’t want to be a Montgomery or Mobile, we want to be Florence, so we need to maintain the identity. We got to maintain the reason that you all live here for our families.”
Tyler rounded out his speech by affirming that if elected, he is committed to seeing this vision through.
“My vision for this community is not a four-year vision. I don't intend to be around for four years to pick up and go somewhere else. I have an eight, a 12 or 16-20-year vision for this community,” Tyler affirmed.
“When you look at the cities across the state of Alabama who have done very well, they have mayors in place who've been there for a long time. Who were able to implement comprehensive plans and see them all the way through and I expect to.”
Tyler concluded with a challenge: “Here’s what I would say. And I say this very sincerely and very confidently. If there’s another candidate for mayor in the city of Florence who can come up with a better plan than I can come up with and will come up with, then I think you need to just support that person. If you have another candidate who has a plan, not for us to be for us, not to be “bad,” but for us not to be average. If their plan is not just to make us good, if you have a candidate who makes us excellent or elite? I think we need to support them.”
Even more confidently, Tyler declared, “I just don't think that person exists. I think I'm the guy who's going to come and be able to implement those plans long term and pursue excellence in everything that we do. Let me say this also, at the very end of the day, this campaign is not going to be about me. This campaign needs to be about you and your families, and your kids and your grandkids, your businesses and your homes[…]
“I think Florence can in fact be the bright, shiny Northern Star in the state of Alabama, and I can set us up for success. So, let me say this: My name is Ron Tyler, and I want to be the next mayor of the city of Florence. I value you and I appreciate your support and your help, and we are able to make Florence an excellent or elite city that we know we are capable of becoming. Thank you very much," he concluded.
According to Alabama Media Group, Florence Mayor Andrew Betterton earns an annual salary of $126,894. Sources have not indicated that Mayor Betterton plans to run for re-election. Florence realtor Bill Griffin has established his desire to run for the office, and other candidates are also slated to file for candidacy.
The municipal election will be held on August 26, 2025, so Tyler and all other candidates have until then to make their case to the citizens of Florence.
Jennifer Oliver O'Connell, As the Girl Turns, is an investigative journalist, author, opinion analyst, and contributor to 1819 News, Redstate, and other publications. Jennifer writes on Politics and Pop Culture, with occasional detours into Reinvention, Yoga, and Food. You can read more about Jennifer's world at her As the Girl Turns website. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Telegram.
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