National Minority AIDS Council Building Healthier Communities

Alabama State Rep. Johnny Ford, who previously served six terms (24 years) as mayor of Tuskegee, AL, before winning his seat in the state legislature, is mayor again. After serving six years as a state representative, he recently was re-elected as mayor defeating incumbent Dr. Lucencia Williams Dunn 1,447-1,232 in a run-off vote. Ford, 62, a Republican, faced five other candidates in the initial election, including city administrator Ronald Williams, who unseated him in 1996. Williams lost the mayor's seat to Dunn in 2000. Ford, who was sworn in this week, said, "I am thankful to the citizens of Tuskegee for electing me and I am ready to go to work and once again make Tuskegee, the home of Tuskegee University, the pride of the swift growing South." He added that his top priority is to work with congressional leaders to fully fund the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site Project.