Just after being sworn in for his third term Tuesday evening, Mayor Randall Woodfin told the crowd of hundreds at Boutwell Auditorium that the next generation of Birmingham residents won’t just be part of his agenda, they will drive every decision he makes.

“See it with me: a grandmother standing on her porch watching her child head off to a Birmingham City school that is better today than it has ever been,” he said. “A Birmingham where every child walks into school ready to thrive, where every baby born comes home to books and support, where every student sees a clear path from the classroom to college to career, and where every young adult can see themselves building a life right here in the city that raised it. That’s not a dream, that’s a promise.”

Woodfin calls that organizing principle Cradle to Career. What that looks like, he said, are investments such as the expansion of Birmingham Promise to include more internships and mentors for high school students wanting to go to college.

Woodfin said that principle also looks like the $1 million the City Council approved to help Birmingham families deal with loss of federal nutrition assistance.

“Our children cannot learn if they’re hungry,” he said. “In 2025, we’ve seen a world that far too often seems to be void of love, compassion, and while national leaders play political games and build gold-plated ballrooms, nearly one in four families in our city risk losing access to benefits to keep food on their table.”

Woodfin also highlighted the success of city leaders in reducing homicides, and he praised Birmingham’s early childhood intervention program Small Magic as well as the city’s increased investment in landmarks and museums associated with the Civil Rights Movement.

Woodfin was reelected Birmingham’s mayor on Aug. 26, taking three-fourths of the total vote against a field of eight challengers.

Sitting behind Woodfin on the stage Tuesday evening were his wife, Kendra, and daughter, Love Lee; City Council members, city department heads, former Birmingham mayors and Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Shanta Owens, who swore the mayor in. The event also included a performance by Birmingham native and “American Idol” winner Ruben Studdard.

In his speech, Woodfin shared a quote from Atlanta rap group OutKast: “Success starts in small rooms and comes from your people, the community that raised you, the family that sacrificed for you, the churches that poured into you, the teachers who educated you, the neighbors who fought for you, people who love you.”

“That’s who we are; that’s who we’ve always been; and that’s the Birmingham we’re building for our children,” Woodfin said.