Category: 2017 Birmingham Elections
From Gardendale to Syria: BirminghamWatch Reprises Its Most Interesting Stories of 2017
BirminghamWatch stepped out of the mainstream in 2017 to give you stories that didn’t just recap the news, but also explained how the news was affecting our culture and the people in it.
BW has followed, and continues to follow, arguments for and against Gardendale’s attempts to break away from the county and form its own school system. It has brought you stories of immigrants who have made Alabama their home, of the state’s attempts to improve student performance regardless of high poverty rates in schools, and of the effect the state’s budget decisions are having on the environment.
2017 also was a year of elections, from the culmination of the presidential election with the inauguration of President Donald Trump, to the Birmingham city elections, to the U.S. Senate special election that attracted national attention. BirminghamWatch worked to give voters the information they needed before going to the polls, in addition to delivering that something extra that helped explain the issues, the politics and the ramifications of the elections.
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading BirminghamWatch in 2017, and please continue reading to see what we have in store for 2018! Read more.
Woodfin to Be Inaugurated as Birmingham’s New Mayor Tuesday
Randall Woodfin will be officially sworn in as Birmingham’s 30th mayor Tuesday, following his upset of incumbent William Bell in last month’s runoff.
Woodfin’s campaign was sometimes presented as a populist insurgency, leaning heavily on grassroots fundraising and endorsements from progressive figures such as former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.
Bell in a controversial speech he gave to members of his staff in August characterized Woodfin’s campaign as part of a nationwide effort focused on “restructuring the Democratic political dynamic” and compared Woodfin to Chokwe Lumumba, a self-described “radical” progressive candidate who became mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, earlier this year.
Woodfin has downplayed the narrative of himself as a far-left candidate, telling In These Times’ Katherine Webb-Hehn last month that he considered his platform as a “people-centered” and “lean-left” platform, not an “extreme” one. Read more.
Inaugural Day Events
Swearing-In Ceremony
Tuesday, 12 p.m., Linn Park
Watch Woodfin officially take the oath of office in Linn Park, just outside of City Hall. In a statement published on his website, Woodfin describes the event as “the culmination of more than a year of hard work by many, many people across our city who joined together to with his important election.”
Green Carpet Inaugural Reception
Tuesday, 5:30 p.m., Birmingham Museum of Art
Woodfin says he is “not a red-carpet kind of guy,” so he’s getting around that by changing the color of the carpet. The green carpet is meant to “recognize all the thousands of people who worked at the grassroots level to make our election a reality.” All are invited to the event, which is being held in conjunction with the Birmingham City Council.
Inaugural Events for Birmingham’s New Mayor
Mayor-elect Randall Woodfin will drop the “-elect” from his title when he is officially inaugurated as Birmingham’s 30th mayor Tuesday.
Festivities marking the inauguration began Sunday with a Day of Service, encouraging people to get out and better their community, and a Prayer for the City of Birmingham event held Sunday night.
Here’s a rundown of the inauguration day events:
Swearing-In Ceremony
Tuesday, Nov. 28, 12 p.m., Linn Park
Watch Woodfin officially take the oath of office in Linn Park, just outside of City Hall. In a statement published on his website, Woodfin describes the event as “the culmination of more than a year of hard work by many, many people across our city who joined together to with his important election.”
Green Carpet Inaugural Reception
Tuesday, Nov. 28, 5:30 p.m., Birmingham Museum of Art
Woodfin says he is “not a red-carpet kind of guy,” so he’s getting around that by changing the color of the carpet. The green carpet is meant to “recognize all the thousands of people who worked at the grassroots level to make our election a reality.” All are invited to the event, which is being held in conjunction with the Birmingham City Council.
Birmingham Votes 2017
Woodfin Announces His Executive Leadership Team
Nov. 14, 2017 — Birmingham Mayor-elect Randall Woodfin named members of his administration’s executive leadership team Tuesday morning.
Almost all of the appointees previously worked in some capacity with Birmingham city government. Two worked on the campaign of Bernie Sanders, the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate who endorsed Woodfin shortly before his election.
Standing at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute in front of a black banner with the words “How Does It Help All 99 Birmingham Neighborhoods?” emblazoned on it, Woodfin said he plans to “hit the reset button at City Hall as relates to certain leadership having a sense of urgency with helping people and putting people first.” The question on the banner behind him serves as “our why,” he said, the guiding principle behind every decision his administration makes.
“When we wake up every single day over the next four years, every decision we make, every issue we face, anything on the solutions end of the problems we have, we will always ask this question,” he said. Read more.
BIRMINGHAM VOTES 2017
Randall Woodfin will be sworn in as Birmingham’s new mayor during his inauguration Nov. 28. BirminghamWatch interviewed him, new council members and departing council members before the passing of the baton:
First? Look at the Books: A Q&A With Birmingham’s Next Mayor
Newly Elected Birmingham City Councilor Hunter Williams Calls for Broad Coordination to Move the City Forward
For Newly Elected Birmingham City Councilor Darrell O’Quinn, the Neighborhood is Still the Thing
New Birmingham Councilor John Hilliard Says He Can’t Do It Alone, Residents Must Share Responsibility for the District
Transparency, Neighborhoods and One Uber Battle: Three Former Birmingham Councilors Talk About Their Time at City Hall
READ COMPLETE COVERAGE OF THE BIRMINGHAM CITY ELECTION.
Birmingham’s New Council Members Sworn in; Abbott Elected President
Oct. 24, 2017 – Birmingham City Councilor Valerie Abbott was elected president of the Birmingham City Council this morning.
The vote was taken after new council members were sworn into office for the 2017-2021 term. Six incumbent councilors – Abbott, Lashunda Scales, William Parker, Sheila Tyson, Jay Roberson and Steven Hoyt – and three new council members – Hunter Williams, Darrell O’Quinn and John Hilliard – started their terms today.
Mayor William Bell remains as mayor until Randall Woodfin, elected in the Oct. 3 runoff, takes office Nov. 28.
Newly Elected Birmingham City Councilor Hunter Williams Calls for Broad Coordination to Move the City Forward
This is the third in a series of interviews BirminghamWatch will be conducting with newly elected city officials.
New District 2 Birmingham City Councilor Hunter Williams is all about coordination — with neighborhoods, with the mayor’s office, with local businesses and utilities — and making sure those perspectives are represented when considering solutions to Birmingham’s issues.
Williams defeated his incumbent opponent, Kim Abbott, née Rafferty, with the largest margin of victory in any of the Oct. 3 runoffs – 71.43 percent to 28.57 percent. Williams attributes his victory to voters’ frustration with a lack of growth in District 2.
“It became apparent that the district was becoming somewhat stagnant in terms of growth,” he said. “And I mean not only economically. Our infrastructure was not being taken care of specifically in our district. It was very hard to see any sort of progression.”
During his term as councilor, Williams hopes to restart that growth. His plan involves placing focus on existing District 2 features such as Ruffner Mountain and Banks High School, and making sure that infrastructure repairs and community policing both take into account the specific needs of their communities. Read the Q&A.
First? Look at the Books: A Q&A With Birmingham’s Next Mayor
This is the second in a series of interviews BirminghamWatch will be conducting with newly elected city officials.
Birmingham Mayor-elect Randall Woodfin said he is “concerned” with the way his predecessor has run City Hall, and his first order of business when he takes office Nov. 28 will be to assess city finances and staffing to see whether there has been any wrongdoing.
Woodfin defeated incumbent William Bell, who had served as mayor since 2010, by a significant margin in Oct. 3’s runoff election. Throughout his campaign, Woodfin, who takes office Nov. 28, promised, among other things, to conduct a forensic audit on city finances, to provide more support for the city’s neglected neighborhoods and to restore transparency and accountability to City Hall.
In an interview with BirminghamWatch conducted just after the announcement of his administration’s transition team, Woodfin discussed his expectations for the beginning of his mayorship, his plan to reshape the mayor’s office staff, and his approach to both neighborhood and economic revitalization. Read the Q&A
Former BSC President Krulak and Alabama Power VP Knight Will Lead Woodfin’s Transition Team
Oct. 10, 2017 — Mayor-elect Randall Woodfin announced Tuesday that he had selected Charles Krulak and Bobbie Knight to co-chair his transition team.
In a press conference held at Vulcan Park and Museum, Woodfin described Krulak and Knight as “true public servants” who would provide counsel to his nascent administration in the months leading up to his Nov. 28 inauguration.
Krulak was president of Birmingham-Southern College from 2011 to 2015. He previously served as the 31st Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, and he worked in a variety of high-level positions for bank holding company MBNA between 1999 and 2005.
Until her retirement in 2016, Knight had served as a vice president for Alabama Power, and she previously was chair of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute board of directors. Read more.
For Newly Elected Birmingham City Councilor Darrell O’Quinn, the Neighborhood is Still the Thing
This is the first in a series of interviews BirminghamWatch will be conducting with newly elected city officials.
Accessibility and accountability are the main priorities for newly elected Birmingham City Councilor Darrell O’Quinn.
In a close runoff election, O’Quinn unseated current District 5 Councilor Johnathan Austin. After taking office Oct. 24, O’Quinn plans to immediately start working on ways to engage and educate communities on the resources municipal government can provide, he said.
O’Quinn is part of a wave of new leadership headed to City Hall after the Oct. 3 runoff election. Despite his neophyte status in city government, O’Quinn has been heavily involved in Birmingham on the community level since moving to the city in 2001. He currently serves as president of the Citizens Advisory Board and the Crestwood North Neighborhood Association.
That experience has allowed him to see where communities and neighborhoods have been underserved by Birmingham’s city government, he said.
“I’m sorry to say that the bar has been so low that for me to step in and make a significant difference is pretty damn easy,” O’Quinn said.
Recently, O’Quinn spoke to BirminghamWatch about his early priorities as councilor, his plans to address Birmingham’s economic stagnation and his expectations from the new power dynamic at City Hall. Read the Q&A.
