Three Birmingham City Council races are headed to runoff elections on Oct. 7 after votes Tuesday on a crowded municipal ballot.

But with three incumbents — Councilors Crystal Smitherman, Wardine Alexander and Clinton Woods — winning their races outright Tuesday and two incumbents — Hunter Williams and Darrell O’Quinn — running unopposed, the makeup of the council will remain largely the same.

One new member of the council was decided Tuesday when voters selected Josh Vasa to fill the District 3 seat being vacated by retiring Councilor Valerie Abbott.

In one of the most highly competitive races on the ballot, District 8, April Myers Williams and Sonja Smith are set to compete in a runoff after rising to the top of the crowded field.

None of the nine candidates in that race earned the 50% plus one vote required to win. The same was true of Districts 4 — where Councilor J.T. Moore and challenger Brian Gunn will compete in a runoff — and District 9 — where Councilor LaTonya Tate and former Councilor John Hilliard will compete in six weeks to determine who will fill the seats.

District 1

Councilor Clinton P. Woods, the incumbent for the District 1 seat, secured a sizable lead over his three challengers, getting 68% of the votes, or 2,765 votes, to win the seat without a runoff during Tuesday’s election.

His closest opponent was Tara Nix, a constable and founder of Small’s Group Home, received 17% of the vote. Wenonah High School principal Willie Goldsmith Jr. garnered 10%, while Priscilla Edwards, founder and pastor of God Is Real Outreach Ministries, received just less than 4%.

Efforts to reach Woods were not immediately successful Tuesday night.

District 2

Councilor Hunter Williams will keep his seat as he ran unopposed.

District 3

Josh Vasa, the chief operating officer of Woodlawn United, won the race for Birmingham’s District 3 Council seat Tuesday with 80% of the vote.

“I am truly honored by your trust and support,” Vasa wrote to his followers on a Facebook post for his campaign. “I look forward to serving the residents of District 3 with dedication, integrity, and a commitment to building stronger neighborhoods together. This victory belongs to all of us, and I can’t wait to get to work for you.”

Tuesday’s election was Vasa’s first run for public office. He ran against Ryan Jones, who won 19.8% of the vote.

Current District 3 Councilor Valerie A. Abbott did not run for reelection.

District 4

The District 4 race will go to a runoff between Councilor J.T. Moore and challenger Brian Gunn. Gunn, a member of the Birmingham Planning Commission, led Tuesday’s balloting with 41% of the vote as Moore took 32%.

Challengers Joseph Holt and Darryl Williams received 21% and 5% of the vote, respectively.

District 5

Councilor Darrell O’Quinn, who serves as president of the City Council, ran unopposed for reelection and will serve another term.

District 6 

Councilor Crystal N. Smitherman easily won reelection to her seat Tuesday with 82% of the vote, defeating challenger Keith O. Williams in the two-candidate race.

“I’m honored that the District 6 community continues to trust me to represent them in the City Council,” she said after the vote. “Our neighborhoods are some of the most rich and diverse in Birmingham with some of our city’s most beloved iconic businesses, and that’s because of the hard work that happens every day. We’ve come a long way and we’re only going to keep going.”

District 7 

Councilor Wardine Alexander retained her seat on the council, getting nearly 58% of the votes cast Tuesday. She defeated challenger Lonnie Malone in the two-candidate race.

District 8

April Myers Williams and Sonja Smith each got a bit less than a third of the vote Tuesday — Williams with 32.1% and Smith with 31.7% — sending the race to a runoff.

With most of the results in Tuesday night, Williams said she’s grateful for the opportunity to continue her campaign and thankful to those who supported her. “I have to now get back to work and appeal to the other voters who didn’t,” she said, speaking during a watch party at the Bush Hills Connections Complex, a community center and garden she helped found.

Smith, who watched results come in from a party at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, said that bolstering small businesses came up more than she expected during her conversations with community members. “So that will probably be a little higher on the priority list than it was,” as she continues her campaign, Smith said.

Councilor Carol E. Clarke did not seek reelection to her seat representing District 8. Seven candidates other than Williams and Smith did throw their hats into the open ring, though they didn’t break double digits in the vote share. Jonathan Hatten received 7.64% of the vote; Adlai Trone got 7.59%; David Rivers, 7.06%; Joe May, 4.98%; Justin Smith, 3.77%; Susan Palmer, 3.50%; and Eric Delk, 1.53%.

District 9

District 9 will see another LaTonya Tate-John Hilliard runoff on Oct. 7, echoing the election four years ago. But this time the incumbent in the race is Tate, who won the seat from Hilliard in 2021.

Tate had a significant lead over her three challengers in voting Tuesday, but her 44% of the vote fell short of winning the seat. Hilliard’s 29% of the vote will send him to head-to-head competition with Tate.

Trailing the two were Richard Franklin Jr. and Tate’s former chief of staff, Beatrice Collins, who received 17% and 9% of the vote, respectively.

Olivia McMurrey contributed to this report.