2017 Birmingham Municipal Elections: And then there were 2

The Birmingham mayor’s office could see a major generational shift in the runoff scheduled Oct. 3.

Randall Woodfin, a city attorney and school board member who is 36 years old, was the top vote-getter in the Aug. 22 municipal election.

Mayor William A. Bell, who has been in politics for 40 years and is seeking his second full term, finished second.

The runoff is needed because no candidate garnered more than 50 percent of the vote.

Woodfin, with 15,668 votes (41 percent), and Bell, with 14,025 votes (37 percent), far outpaced the other 10 candidates. Construction contractor Chris Woods finished third with 6,961 votes (18 percent).

Bell and Woodfin spoke to a meeting of the Downtown Democrats at the Harbert Center on Sept. 8 and sounded the same notes that have defined their campaigns throughout.

Woodfin told the group that Birmingham is “a tale of two cities,” with a booming downtown but many other neighborhoods he says have been neglected by Bell’s administration. He said greater efforts are needed to fight crime, improve police morale, increase city education funding and help smooth the process for small businesses to obtain permits and licenses at city hall.

And Woodfin criticized what he said was Bell’s unwillingness to work collaboratively, with the City Council and others, to solve problems.

Bell said he helped bring the city back from the steep financial hole he found when he took office in 2010, and he trumpeted the recent revitalization of downtown.

The mayor also defended his record in the neighborhoods, citing the Crossplex athletic complex in Five Points West and the administration’s efforts to rebuild Pratt City after the 2011 tornadoes, bring new housing and other projects to Woodlawn and foster small businesses in Avondale.

“We have a lot of growth and development, and that is due to the leadership I’ve provided in difficult times,” Bell said.

During the campaign, Woodfin has called for an audit of city finances and criticized what he and other candidates said was Bell’s lack of transparency.

“We can have efficient, transparent government,” Woodfin told Iron City Ink in August.

Bell countered that virtually all the city’s financial and public safety information is available online for any citizen.  “We don’t have anything to hide," he said.

Council, BOE seats to be decided in runoffs

The makeup of the Birmingham City Council will likely not change radically, given the results of the Aug. 22 municipal election.

Six Birmingham City Council incumbents won re-election, while two incumbents — Kim Rafferty in District 2 and Council President Johnathan F. Austin in District 5 — will face challengers in the Oct. 3 runoff.

Councilor Marcus Lundy in District 9, after serving only on term, did not run for re-election.

Here is a breakdown of the results:

► District 1: Incumbent Lashunda Scales won nearly 69 percent of the vote in defeating Sherman Collins, a businessman and school board member.

► District 2 – Runoff: Incumbent Kim Rafferty faced seven challengers. Hunter Williams, a businessman and Jefferson County sheriff’s deputy, led the field with nearly 30 percent of the vote. Rafferty finished second with about 17 percent.

► District 3: Valerie Abbott, the longest-serving current council member, won about 65 percent of the vote in defeating Jefferson County employee Ryan Jones and college student Rowan Henderson. Jones earned about 32 percent of the vote.

► District 4: William Parker easily won re-election over three challengers with almost 75 percent of the vote.

► District 5 – Runoff: Johnathan Austin, who faced six challengers, finished first but only had about 32 percent of the vote and will face Darrell O’Quinn, a North Crestwood neighborhood officer, on Oct. 3 

► District 6: Incumbent Sheila Tyson easily defeated to challengers with almost 80 percent of the vote.

► District 7: Jay Roberson won re-election with about 58 percent of the vote. He had four challengers, including IT professional Lonnie F. Malone, who finished second with 21 percent of the vote.

► District 8: Council President Pro Tem Steven W. Hoyt beat three challengers and earned about 58 percent of the vote.

► District 9 – Runoff: Roderick Royal, a former City Council member who also served as acting mayor in, led a field of eight candidates with about 31 percent of the vote. He will face second-place finisher John Hilliard, a former state legislator, in the runoff.

Board of Education

► District 1 – Runoff: Cedric Small and Douglas Ragland will face off Oct. 3. Small 

led with 37 percent of the vote in August.

► District 2: Terri Michal and Brandon McCray ran a neck-and-neck race, with only 10 votes separating them on election day. Once provisional ballots were counted, Michal edged over the 50 percent mark to take the win.

► District 3: Mary Boehm took a decisive victory over Larry Contri, with 71 percent of the vote.

► District 4 – Runoff: Edward Maddox led in the votes, but didn’t surpass the 50 percent mark to win the seat outright. He and incumbent Daagye Hendricks will face off in October.

► District 5 – Runoff: Michael Millsap had a strong showing with 30 percent of the vote in August, but will runoff against David McKinney, who captured about 15 percent of votes.

► District 6: Cheri Gardner won her re-election bid with 79 percent of the vote, beating challenger Ervin Hill Sr.

► District 7 – Runoff: Incumbent Wardine Alexander finished third in August, so challengers Patricia McAdory and Walter Wilson will compete for the seat in the runoff.

► District 8 – Runoff: Sonja Smith and Patricia Henderson both captured about 30 percent of their district’s vote, so they will have a close runoff to win the seat.

► District 9: Sandra Brown was also re-elected, winning 68 percent of the vote over competitor Lawrence Jackson.