Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson is strongly hinting he will seek a fourth term in office in 2025, rolling back on comments he made after winning the 2021 mayoral election suggesting he was embarking on his final term in office.

“I’m running unless I tell you that I’m not,” Stimpson said during a one-hour Q&A with Alabama Media Group reporters on Wednesday, thwarting back any suggestions he was a lame duck mayor. “And the reason I say that is we have made tremendous strides – and I say ‘we,’ as in the team – has made tremendous strides in every area of the city.”

He added, “There are a lot of people who have invested in a lot of things in the city, and they are not quit done yet. It’s like (Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s campaign) slogan in the last election, ‘not done yet.’”

Though Stimpson did not confirm he is running for a fourth term, his comments were a change from 2021 when, after winning re-election, he said his third term might be his last.

“We have a lot of young guns out there who know how to do things,” he said at the time, adding he was prepared to “teach someone else up” to replace him.

Stimpson, who turns 71 next month, said on Wednesday he is in good health and is pleased with the leadership that is in charge of the city, highlighting advancements his administration has made on city services like parks and recreation.

“There is still a lot of focus on the mayor making decisions,” Stimpson said. “But also, I say this with each month that goes by, there are people in positions who are becoming more confident in making decisions as they go forward. That is what you want.”

Stimpson, during the sit-down interview, talked about aspects of his administration he hopes are remembered the most. He also discussed so-called “legacy” projects that include completion of the city’s new international airport at the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley, a revitalized Mobile Civic Center, the Interstate 10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project, and riverfront redevelopment. Highlights from the interview will appear Sunday in The Mobile Lede and next week on AL.com.

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“I didn’t realize how challenging it would be and how long it took to get things done,” Stimpson said, referring to his views when he first entered office after defeating incumbent Mayor Sam Jones in 2013. It was Stimpson’s first attempt at public office.

“I didn’t know anything about it when I got involved,” Stimpson said. “It just takes a long time to make things happen. But (when) you change mayors, you change governors, you change presidents … programs change. There are some neat things in the pipeline, and the potential for job growth.”

Stimpson highlighted the city’s educational leadership and its impact on workforce development.

“One of the things I’m most excited about right now is where we stand in our education system,” he said. “Jo Bonner (president of the University of South Alabama), Olivier Charles (president of Bishop State Community College), and Chresal Threadgill (superintendent of Mobile County Public Schools) who are all working so close now with (Mobile Chamber president & CEO) Bradley Byrne on workforce development. I think you will see transformation in workforce development that will rival anywhere in the nation.”

He added, “It’s all because of the right leadership in the right places, and that’s exciting from my perspective.”

Stimpson won the 2013 mayoral contest with 54% of the vote and rolled to easy re-election wins in 2017 and 2021. He will be 73 at the end of his current term in office.

If Stimpson is re-elected during the August 25, 2025, municipal election, he will be 77 at the end of a fourth term.

Stimpson noted that when he announced he was seeking a third term, he made the announcement in January 2021, or almost seven months before the election.

Legislation introduced by state Rep. Chris Pringle, R-Mobile, would move up the qualification deadline for running in Mobile’s 2025 municipal election. Under HB84, candidates for mayor and city council will have to qualify for the election by the fourth Tuesday in May, or one month earlier than the current deadline that sets qualification for the fourth Tuesday in June.

If re-elected, Stimpson will match Mike Dow as the only four-term elected mayors in Mobile’s history. The city has only operated under a council-mayor form government since 1985, after previously operating for 74 years under a three-member commission form of government. From 1911-1985, the mayoral title rotated each year among the elected commissioners.