Birmingham Runoff Election Results
MAYOR William Bell 17,353, 41.06% Randall Woodfin 24,910, 58.94% Read more.
Government
Voter Turnout Tops 35 Percent
More than 35 percent of Birmingham’s 119,433 registered voters cast ballots in Tuesday’s city runoff election, topping the 27 percent turnout for the Aug. 22 city election.
Four New Members and One Incumbent Elected to Birmingham Board of Education
The Birmingham Board of Education will have six new members after Tuesday’s runoff election. Only three incumbents remain on the nine-member board that oversees the state’s fourth-largest school system. New Board of Education members elected Tuesday – all current or retired educators – are Douglas Lee Ragland, Michael “Mickey” Millsap, Patricia Spigner McAdory and Sonja Q. Smith. Also in the runoff, incumbent board member Daayge Hendricks was re-elected for a second term. Read more.
A Bad Night for Incumbents: Challengers Take the Lead in Council Runoffs
A Crestwood North Neighborhood resident experienced a realization as he greeted Darrell O’Quinn Tuesday night in the parking lot of the Shoppes at Crestwood: “We’re going to have to get a new neighborhood president.” O’Quinn’s term as neighborhood president comes to an end as he prepares to move into his new role as District 5 representative on the Birmingham City Council. In unofficial results, he edged out incumbent council President Johnathan Austin 2,430 votes to 2,271. The night belonged to those who had never held the offices they were seeking. Read more.
Randall Woodfin Defeats Incumbent William Bell to Become Birmingham’s Next Mayor
A night of upsets in Birmingham city government culminated in the victory of challenger Randall Woodfin over incumbent William Bell. Woodfin topped Bell in the race by more than 7,500 votes, getting 58.94 percent of the vote compared to Bell’s 41.06 percent, according to the unofficial vote tally. It was the end of an often contentious campaign in which Woodfin challenged the status quo. “We deserve better” was his campaign slogan. Bell campaigned on his experience and accomplishments. But ultimately, a public dissatisfaction with Bell’s seven-year administration won out. “Birmingham, this is our moment,” Woodfin said to a raucous crowd of supporters gathered at his campaign party. Read more.
Woodfin Beats Incumbent Bell in Birmingham Mayor’s Race, Other Results
It appears Birmingham voters have replaced their mayor and the president of the City Council. Randall Woodfin has beaten incumbent William Bell in the race for the mayor’s post. In unofficial vote returns Woodfin has taken almost 59 percent of the vote to Bell’s 41 percent. It also appears that Council President Johnathan Austin has been beaten in his bid for re-election. In the District 5 race, Darrell O’Quinn had 52 percent of the vote to Austin’s 48 percent, though only about 200 votes separated the men in the district race. Find the full list of results here.
US Supreme Court Takes a Pass, Won’t Hear Challenge of JeffCo Bond Refinancing
Oct. 3, 2017 – Jefferson County Commissioners reported this morning that the U.S. Supreme Court had opted not to hear the latest challenge to the county’s refinancing of bonds backed by the 1-cent sales tax. “The Supreme Court denied even hearing it,” Commissioner Joe Knight said during committee meeting. “It’s over. It’s done. The Supreme Court said, ‘We don’t even think it worth hearing.’” Read more.
U.S. Supreme Court to Decide Whether “Extreme” Partisan Gerrymandering Can, or Should, be Curbed
With protestors rallying outside and a packed house inside, the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday heard arguments over the legality of “extreme” partisan gerrymandering of legislative districts. The court has taken up a suit, Gill v. Whitford, that alleges partisan gerrymandering in the redrawing of legislative districts in Wisconsin. The court is mulling whether enforceable standards can be set limiting political influence over the drawing of districts. Conservatives on the court are unsure that can be done, while liberals argued that not doing it undercuts the theory of democracy. Much of Tuesday’s arguments were aimed at Justice Anthony Kennedy, widely considered the swing vote in the case. The Supreme Court’s decision could have ramifications for legislative districts in Alabama and 20 other states. In Alabama, legislators drew new House and Senate districts after the 2010 Census, but a court ordered them to redraw 12 districts deemed to be the result of racial gerrymandering. The issue is whether the redistricting packed too many minority voters in too few districts. Opponents of the plan argue that if fewer black voters – just enough to influence the election – were assigned to more districts, they would have a strong voice in the selection of more legislators. The Legislature adopted new districting maps this spring that redraw 25 of the 35 Senate districts and 70 of the 105 House districts. Unsatisfied, the Legislative Black Caucus has challenged the plans. The Supreme Court is expected to hand down its decision in the spring. BirminghamWatch Coverage Race and the Alabama Legislature, Volatile Mix in Redrawing Political Map A Fix for Racial Gerrymandering? Legislators to Debate Whether New Plan Cures Voting District Problems Legislature OKs Redistricting Plan on Last Day of the Session National Coverage of U.S. Supreme Court Case Kennedy’s Vote Is in Play on Voting Maps Warped by Politics (New York Times) Kennedy is Key to Supreme Court Outcome on Partisan Maps (Associated Press) What is Gerrymandering? A guide to Understanding the Case Before the Supreme Court (Quartz) With Wisconsin case, Supreme Court Takes up Partisan Gerrymandering (Christian Science Monitor) Supreme Court Appears Divided Over Gerrymandering (Wall Street Journal) Transcript of the Arguments (Wall Street Journal) Partisan Gerrymandering: How Much Is Too Much? (NPR)
2 Lawyers, Drummond Exec Indicted in Corruption Probe
A six-count indictment filed by a federal grand jury Wednesday charges two partners in a Birmingham law firm and a vice president of one of the world’s largest coal companies with conspiracy, bribery, wire fraud and money laundering. Investigators in a press conference Thursday alleged that the scheme, involving the bribery of a former state legislator from Birmingham, was designed to thwart EPA action on a toxic waste cleanup in the city of Tarrant and the adjacent Inglenook neighborhood of Birmingham. Joel Iverson Gilbert and Steven McKinney, both partners in the Birmingham law firm of Balch and Bingham, and David Roberson, vice president of government and regulatory affairs of Birmingham-based Drummond Company, are accused of paying bribes through a non-profit foundation to former Rep. Oliver Robinson Jr., also a former UAB and NBA basketball player. U.S. Attorney Jay Town announced the indictments in a news conference Thursday. Robinson was indicted last month, accused of taking bribes from the two attorneys in exchange for his help to keep the federal Environmental Protection Agency from putting the 35th Avenue Superfund site on a national priority list. The idea was to have the matter handled by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, instead, which potentially would save Drummond “tens of millions of dollars,” Town said. Read more.
Grand Jury Indicts 2 Lawyers, Drummond Exec in Corruption Probe
A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted two Birmingham lawyers and an Alabama coal company executive on charges of conspiracy, bribery, wire fraud and money laundering. The indictment charges the three paid former state Rep. Oliver Robinson to take official action favorable to their interests in connection with EPA actions in north Birmingham. Read more.