Birmingham City Councilor Crystal Smitherman said she’s running for reelection in District 6 because she wants to expand on the success the council and mayor have had over the last six years.

Those successes include violence intervention programs, affordable housing projects, recycling programs and mental health outreach initiatives.

“So really, it’s just about the overall quality of life of my residents. That’s something I really focus on and has been my biggest focus with my office … community service is number one for us,” Smitherman said.

She comes by community service honestly. Smitherman, a lawyer since 2019, is the daughter of state Sen. Rodger Smitherman and Carole Smitherman, a former council member who retired this year as a Jefferson County judge.

Crystal Smitherman was appointed to the council in December 2018 after then-incumbent Sheila Tyson took a seat on the Jefferson County Commission. She won in 2019’s special election and again in the 2021 municipal election.

Her campaign literature lists a number of accomplishments by the council and mayor since she took office. They include:

• Expanded the LandBank Authority and directed $8 million toward housing repairs to prevent displacement.
• Launched the HEART team for direct engagement and emergency services for residents experiencing homelessness and secured nearly $2.7 million for the Home For All pilot, creating up to 75 micro-shelters with counseling and recovery services.
• Launched the Embrace Mothers Initiative, from which 110 single mothers received $375 per month for a year to help with child care, bills and essentials so they could pursue education, employment or family goals.
• Approved a budget that included $15 million for street paving, $1 million for sidewalks and $500,000 for traffic calming as well as $15.8 million for police recruitment and retention.
• Instituted budget town hall meetings.

Smitherman also said she’s particularly proud of putting some of her district’s American Rescue Plan Act funding toward a program that offers mental health treatment to District 6 residents through the Black Women’s Mental Health Institute.

Goals for the Future

In terms of further policy goals if she is elected for another term, Smitherman said those include:

• Expanding the hospital-based violence intervention program to UAB and Princeton Hospital ERs
• Working with the city’s Office of Innovation and Economic Opportunity to put in place incentives to attract more businesses to Five Points South, Titusville and the West End.
• Continuing efforts such as expanding farmers markets to combat food insecurity and food deserts.

Smitherman is chairwoman of the council’s budget committee. Birmingham’s mayor holds the budget power since passage of the 2016 Mayor-Council Act, which critics say shifted that balance of power too heavily toward the executive.

Asked about the act, Smitherman said the council has a great relationship with Mayor Randall Woodfin, but she acknowledged that it might not always be that way.

“So just the uncertainty of whoever could hold office in the future, the council really needs to kind of get back to how it was when my mom was in office, when they would create their own budget and propose it as a counter to the mayor,” she said.

Smitherman faces challenger Keith O. Williams, a freelance web designer and community activist, in the Aug. 26 election.