Democrat Steve Williams won re-election as mayor of Huntington Tuesday night. Williams, the incumbent, beat out GOP challenger and Huntington city council member Tom McCallister.

While the victory was not guaranteed, Williams insisted there were no nerves.

“There was not a matter of nerves going in, saying we could’ve, should’ve, would’ve done something,” Williams said. “We really worked our fannies off, everybody in town. As we look at what we were doing and said, look, we’ve taken ourselves down the right path and just follow the plan.”

Now that Williams is returning to the position, he hopes to continue to focus on his plans to improve the city and overall quality of life of its residents.

“Our mantra is make no little plans,” Williams said. “Frankly, if you look at anything we’ve done, they’re bigger than anything we’ve done, than anybody has done in the last few years.”

Among Williams plans to help revitalize the city, the mayor has stated he wants to redevelop certain areas of the Highlawn business area and bring a major hotel chain to the downtown area. Williams hopes these, as well as other plans can improve the economy of the city and encourage new business.

Perhaps Williams toughest task will be to tackle the opioid problem that has dominated local and national headlines as of late. Following his victory, Williams spoke directly to those concerned about the epidemic.

“We’re all worried sick, sick to death over what’s happening,” Williams said. “But, the idea is very simply this: if you name it, you can own it and if you can name it and own it, you can defeat it. We’re setting a standard other around the country are seeking to follow.”

Williams defeated McCallister 71 percent to 29 percent, receiving 10,392 total votes.