November 26, 2024 – Former Mayor of Decatur Mike “Tuna” McElroy will be the next inductee in the Decatur Hall of Fame. Current Decatur Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe made the announcement at the Annual Community Thanksgiving Luncheon on Tuesday, with McElroy’s wife Lynn and brother Pat present.
McElroy was on the Decatur City Council for six years before running for Mayor, where he was overwhelmingly elected and later reelected for a second term. Moore Wolfe served on the Council with McElroy and remembers him as a non-traditional politician who wanted to accomplish great things for his community.
“He was not a slick, savvy politician; he didn’t want to ride in parades or do all the showy stuff elected officials get to do,” Moore Wolfe said. “What he wanted to do was get the job done. And he did.”
Moore Wolfe attributes the start of many large projects to the City Council under McElroy’s leadership: the $94-million dredging of Lake Decatur, a massive $72-million project to fix Decatur’s aging sewers, and the new Decatur Police Department headquarters, among other accomplishments.
McElroy was the “original Neighborhood Revitalization guy,” said Moore Wolfe. “He would drive around the neighborhoods all the time trying to figure out how to clean them up, how to improve housing, get rid of derelict buildings. Much of what is right in Decatur started with him.”
McElroy served as Mayor for six years before passing away in 2015. An official ceremony unveiling a plaque in his honor will occur in early 2025. The Decatur Hall of Fame is located in the lobby of the Decatur Civic Center on the west wall.
