Judge of Probate, Jefferson County, Place 1

Lee Wendell Loder

Party: Democrat.

Political experience: Current judge, Birmingham Municipal Court; past president and member, Birmingham City Council, 2000-2004.

Professional experience: In private practice for 28 years, dealing with probate, estate planning, wills and trust law, including significant cases involving consumer and civil rights involving tax law. Ambassador for the American Council of Young Political Leaders on delegation to Tanzania/Zanzibar; hosted a Birmingham delegation of policy and business leaders from South Africa on behalf of ACYPL.

Civic experience: Ministry and community work as senior pastor of The Gifted City Church; co-founder of Bestow Schools; put together volunteers  to produce gift boxes for families through the Giftpad Christian Outreach Ministries.

Education: Master of laws candidate, Emory University, 2025; master of religion and public life, Emory University, Candler School of Religion, 2023; juris doctorate, Samford University, Cumberland School of Law, 1995; bachelor’s in political science, Morehouse College, 1992.

Main issues: Communicate with voters about their voting location, election dates and access to sample ballots. Support for a voter registration system that is easy and automatic to encourage more participation in elections. Make the court more user friendly by limiting the times community members must wait in lines or at court hearings, engage staff in service and etiquette training and increase options for citizens to interact with the court digitally. Direct more resources to building first-class mental health institutions with more beds to effectively treat mental health disorders rather than criminalizing them.

Campaign information: Campaign website, Facebook.