Government

Brocato Claims Second Term as Hoover Mayor as Jeffco Cities Elect Leaders

UPDATED — When he was elected in 2016, Frank Brocato became the 10th individual to serve as mayor of Hoover. On Tuesday night, the 67-year-old former city fire marshal won an easy victory in his bid for a second four-year mayoral term in Alabama’s sixth most populous city. In an election in which each city council incumbent on the ballot was winning easily Tuesday night, Brocato was leading City Council President Gene Smith III, a former city firefighter and a council member since 2004, by a margin of more than three to one. At about 10:30 p.m., with 20 of the city’s 28 boxes reporting, Brocato had 7,761 votes to 2,414 for Smith. In an interview, Brocato said Smith had called to congratulate him at about 8:30 p.m., by which time the mayor already had built a big lead. Read more.

Results of Tuesday's municipal elections in Jefferson County.

Jefferson County Municipal Election Results

Results of municipal elections Tuesday in Jefferson County. Below is a list of municipal election results. It will be updated during the evening as returns are reported Read more.

Budget Blows to Birmingham Schools and Transit Being Cushioned, Other Groups are Not as Lucky

Mayor Randall Woodfin defended some controversial cuts in his proposed FY 2021 budget Tuesday, arguing that, despite a significant drop in city funding, both Birmingham City Schools and the Birmingham-Jefferson Transit Authority would continue to operate as usual. Much of the money they lost will be made up by funds from elsewhere. Many other groups, including the library system, zoo and Railroad Park, are facing much bigger consequences. Read more.

Parole Hearings Continue Despite COVID-19

Since being authorized to hold parole hearings under a special order from Gov. Kay Ivey, the state Board of Pardons and Paroles has held more than 1,200 hearings and granted 253 paroles. In the past, the board has held public hearings. But because of the pandemic, it is holding hearings in which it reviews materials submitted by the interested parties. Read more.

House Passes Bill Protecting Postal Service in Mostly Partisan Vote

Voterama in Congress WASHINGTON – Alabama’s members of the U.S. House of Representatives, as with much of the House membership, voted mostly along party lines Saturday to shore up the postal service as the country nears an election when more ballots are expected to be mailed than ever before. The vote on HR 8015 was 257 for and 150 against. It would prohibit the U.S. Postal Service from reducing service below levels in effect at the start of the year and require it to treat official election envelopes as first-class mail in this fall's balloting. In addition, the bill would provide $25 billion requested by the postal service for coping with the coronavirus outbreak in the budget year starting Oct. 1. Read more.

Micheal K. Williams Fairfield

Micheal K. Williams Age: 68 Occupation: Executive director of the Miles College Community Development Corporation. Political experience: Served as Virginia’s commissioner on education, welfare reform and citizen empowerment; former president of the Richmond, Va., NAACP. Main issue: Get some economic development into the city to clear up the financial situation.

Scott Fairfield

Fredrick D. Scott Age: 66 Occupation: Pastor and funeral director. Political experience: Ran for mayor in 2012; served eight years on City Council. Main issue: Revitalization of the city by cleaning up the neighborhoods and strengthening the police department, possibly through a cooperative agreement with Miles College. 

Rowser Fairfield

Jeffrey Rowser Age: 37 Occupation: Retired from USPS. Political experience: Ran in 2017 for Birmingham City Council. Main issue: Improve public safety (police and fire)

Eddie Penny Fairfield

Eddie Penny Age: 67 Occupation: retired from education, teacher and administrator with Jefferson County Schools. Political experience: Mayor since 2017; two years as city council president; four years on Fairfield city school board. Main issue: Bring city’s finances out of bankruptcy through economic development.

McDowell Fairfield

Cynthia Turner McDowell Age: 62 Occupation: Teaches at Lawson Community College. Political experience: Four years on Fairfield City Council. Main issue: Renovate or remove abandoned houses to rebuild Fairfield one block at a time.