Standing in the rain in front of dilapidated apartment buildings on Ensley Avenue in the Five Points West area, Lashunda Scales announced that she is making another bid to become the first woman elected mayor of Birmingham.

“Birmingham has to stop settling for mediocrity,” Scales said. “That’s been Birmingham’s greatest hurdle, the fact that we have allowed other cities … to outgrow us because of the fact that we don’t want to do the necessary work that is required to make Birmingham a thriving city that we know, that I know it could be.”

Scales is a two-term member of the Jefferson County Commission representing District 1, which includes much of Birmingham. The former Birmingham City Council member ran unsuccessfully for mayor four years ago, finishing second to Mayor Randall Woodfin – 20.77% to his 64.3%.

But, Scales said, time can bring a new perspective.

“I’m doing this again because Birmingham matters to me,” she said. “I live in Birmingham. I was born in Birmingham, raised in Birmingham and Birmingham makes up 47% of my commission district. It is worth me getting out here and continuing on for what I stood for over 7½ years ago. I stood for all 99 neighborhoods having equal growth and development and to make sure that my city can get away from being No. 4 in the state to being No. 1 and being off the 10 most violent cities list.

“Birmingham is ready to see a change that they can believe in,” she said. “I believe the difference in the 2021 election versus this time around is people have had 7½ years to see what the current mayor can or is willing to do. Since the current mayor’s first term in office, very little has changed. In fact, it has gotten worse.”

The candidate said there is only so much she can do for Birmingham from her post on the County Commission. The buck stops at the mayor’s office.

“The power rests with the mayor when I’m talking about the needs of the people in Birmingham,” she said. “When you’re speaking of police patrol, when you’re talking about having your garbage picked up on time, when you’re talking about a community having economic growth and jobs in that community, that’s going to require the absolute power by the Mayor Council Act that is given especially to the mayor.”

Like other Woodfin challengers, Scales said there are promises that have not been kept by the winner of the past two elections. Birmingham is beset with blight, she said, standing in front of the twin apartment buildings, charred by fire. She questioned dilapidated structures standing for years before being torn down and said that hurts communities.

The commissioner also brought with her an advocate for victims of crime and two mothers who are such victims, one whose son was beaten at City Walk and another whose was repeatedly shot in an unprovoked outburst.

Reclaiming the Top Spot

Scales noted that Birmingham has lost its standing in the state among Alabama’s most populated cities. But, she added, it’s not too late to reverse that trend.

“I believe that Birmingham with the right leadership, with vision, with courage – most of all, with courage to go against the status quo – (can) make Birmingham the best place to be developed, to live, to grow, to work,” the candidate said. “When we do the necessary work, people will come back to Birmingham. They will want to come back to Birmingham because Birmingham has something to offer.”

Scales acknowledged recent changes that have reduced federal funds coming to Birmingham in the form of research grants, nonprofit funding and other revenues. She said the city must grow its population if it is to overcome the shift that has occurred in Washington, D.C.

“Birmingham has to find new streams of revenue so we can take care of ourselves,” the commissioner said. “One of the things that I know that we don’t do, even right now, is online business. We don’t make doing business with the city of Birmingham very easy. In fact, it’s very cumbersome. We’ve got to change that.”

Scales also said the Legislature’s recent restructuring of the Birmingham Water Works Board is an indication of the state perceiving weak leadership in the city. She said that more Montgomery takeovers “are likely” if there is no change in the mayor’s office.

“They already have a bill in the House, which is House Bill 14. If we do not lower the crime rate, there’s a possible state takeover of the police department,” she said, adding that the Birmingham Airport Authority could be in the crosshairs.

Scales said the current slate of candidates for mayor includes three who are currently public servants – Woodfin, state Rep. Juandalynn Givan and herself. Each will be judged on his or her record, she said.

“I will put my track record up against both the incumbent and others,” she said.

Birmingham voters go to the polls Aug. 26 to choose a new mayor, city council members and board of education members.