The contest to lead a town noted for its years of political division is heating up as a city council leader announces her run for mayor.

Councilwoman and Mayor-pro tem Tracie Threadford is running for mayor of Tarrant in the August municipal election.

Threadford’s entry into the race represents a high-profile challenge to incumbent Mayor Wayman Newton, who is seeking a second term.

“Tarrant needs leadership. Tarrant needs a leader with heart who cares about the community,” Threadford told AL.com. “They need someone with vision and someone with direction, someone who knows how to get there.”

Tension at council meetings often erupts in raised voices and insults from both city leaders and residents in the audience. Longtime residents have expressed their embarrassment and fear that the constant drama will damage their city.

The series of legal, political and personal fights has left the town of 6,000 people bitterly divided. Threadford said that division has come with a price to residents.

“The city has been described as looking like a third-world country. It needs to be cleaned,” she said. “Dilapidated structures need to be removed. But there’s so much fighting where we can’t get to those issues.”

Threadford’s announcement ends months of speculation and whispers about her political future.

“If people are whispering, they are whispering for a reason,” she said. “They see that I can do this job. So, I’m going to give the people exactly what they want – leadership.”

Threadford said the city suffers from a lack of growth, a lack of unity, and lack of vision.

As mayor, she promised to bring transparency to city hall, work to soothe political friction and improve quality of life issues such as neighborhood cleanliness.

“You work across the aisle, you find common ground,” Threadford said. “I don’t have to like you to move forward, I just have to work with you and know how to put pride and ego aside and do what’s best for the citizens, and that hasn’t been happening.”

On the other side, Newton told AL.com that he is ready for the political challenge. He blamed Threadford and the council for the city’s dysfunction.

“For nearly five years, the city council, led by the mayor pro tem, has blocked progress at every turn, refusing to pass a budget and opposing every initiative I introduced to improve Tarrant,” he said. “Now, she wants to lead the same city she spent years holding back. I look forward to hearing how she explains that to the people of Tarrant.”

Threadford declined to mention Newton by name, but said the city needs to move forward.

Threadford, 55, holds a bachelor’s in business management and a master’s in business administration. She is pursuing a doctorate with a concentration on organizational leadership.

“I would ask that the citizens here get to know me for me, get to know my heart, get to know what I bring to the table and get to know that I really care,” she said.