Government

Five Birmingham School Board Races Headed to Runoffs

Voters seemed ready to side with newcomers in Birmingham City Board of Education elections Tuesday, as board President Wardine Towers Alexander was defeated in District 7 and another incumbent, Daagye Hendricks, must face former board member Edward Maddox in the Oct. 3 runoff for the District 4 seat. Only two incumbents – Sandra Kelly Brown and Cheri Gardner – won re-election, Gardner with 79.24 percent of the vote and Brown with 68.1 percent. Read more.

by Jackie Romine Walburn

Six Incumbents Win Re-Election to the Birmingham City Council, Three Races Will Be Decided in Runoffs

Voters on Tuesday chose to keep the Birmingham City Council’s current lineup mostly intact. Six councilors won re-election outright, while two more garnered enough votes to head to a runoff. The one council seat without an incumbent vying for re-election also is headed to a runoff — though with a familiar face in the lead. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Bell, Woodfin Advance to Runoff in Birmingham Mayor’s Race

Birmingham Mayor William Bell may be in for the fight of his political life. Bell failed to win a majority of votes cast in the Aug. 22 mayoral election — in fact, he wasn’t even the leading vote-getter — and now will go head-to-head against Birmingham Board of Education member Randall Woodfin in a runoff Oct. 3. Woodfin took the top spot in the returns with 15,656 votes; at 40.84 percent, he was well short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff. Bell trailed Woodfin by a wide margin in early returns but closed the gap as the night wore on and finished with 14,011 votes, or 36.55 percent. Woodfin attracted a diverse following in his campaign, and Bell ended the night vowing to focus in on his base before the next round of voting. Read more.

by Robert Carter

Winners in Tuesday’s Birmingham city election and candidates headed for runoffs:

Mayor Randall Woodfin                15,656            40.84% William Bell Sr. (I)              14,011            36.55%   Council District 1 Lashunda Scales (I)              2,384          68%    Council District 2 Kimberly Rafferty (I)               488             17% Hunter Williams                   1,053            38%   Council District 3 Valerie Abbott (I)                    2,547           65%   Council District 4

by Virginia Martin

Finishing Strong: Birmingham City Councilor Lundy Sets up Challenges Over Slow Development in Enon Ridge, Insufficient Minority Participation in Contracts

Aug. 22, 2017 — The only voice of contention at Tuesday’s Birmingham City Council meeting happened to come from the one councilor not on the election ballot. District 9 Councilor Marcus Lundy, who is not seeking re-election, followed through on his promise last week to “finish strong” by challenging the mayor on various development projects — particularly the housing development at Enon Ridge, a neighborhood in Lundy’s district. Mayor William Bell remained silent, not looking up from his desk as Lundy questioned him over allegations that Bethel-Ensley Action Task, a contractor with the city, had not finished two houses in Enon Ridge over the course of two years. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Officials Work to Solve Health Care Puzzle for Poor in Jefferson County

When Cooper Green Mercy Hospital closed its doors in 2013, Jefferson County officials were reeling from health care costs that had spun out of control. At that time, the $50 million indigent care fund – generated by a percentage of sales tax revenue – was not enough to cover costs and officials were dipping into the county’s general fund to cover the shortage. Cooper Green was reborn as an urgent care and primary care clinic. The move has reduced costs over the past four years, but some commissioners recently expressed concern at the amount the county was paying UAB, which provides in-patient, emergency and specialty care to Cooper Green’s poor patients. The payments to UAB are projected to reach about $24 million this fiscal year – nearly half of the county’s indigent care fund. Jefferson County Manager Tony Petelos said the county is not in danger of exceeding the money set aside for indigent care this year, but that does not mean it is as cost effective as it could be. Because it is costly operating the aging building designed to be a hospital, Petelos and Cooper Green Mercy CEO Roger McCollough are pushing an effort to replace Cooper Green Mercy. They’re also looking for ways to channel patients to less-expensive preventative care, treating them before they’re so sick they require treatment in an emergency room or hospitalization. Read more.

by Anita Debro

Voter Tools

Find Your Polling Place Verify Your Voter Registration In a recent “refresh” of the voter rolls, the Secretary of State’s Office has moved 340,162 people to the inactive voter list. You can check the status of your registration above. If you arrive at the polls and are told you have been put on the inactive

by BirminghamWatch

BirminghamWatch Listening Sessions: A Community Conversation

BirminghamWatch Listening Sessions: A Community Conversation Antidote to Birmingham Crime? Community Investment, Not More Police, Some Residents Say Parents Criticize Birmingham Public Schools. Still, ‘Somebody in Every School is Fighting for Something,’ They Say. Young Voters Seek Transformative Leadership With a New Vision in Birmingham Elections Quality of Life Issues Dominate Discussion in Forest Park-South

by Virginia Martin

What Could the Board of Education Look Like After the Elections?

With five of nine Birmingham City Schools board members not seeking reelection, the city school’s governing body will have a majority of new members in the next administration. Read more.

by Jackie Romine Walburn

BW Listening: What were residents thinking about before Tuesday’s election?

VIDEOS: BirminghamWatch brought residents together for a series of meetings leading up to the 2017 elections.

by Zachary Rogers