Randall Woodfin to Run for Mayor of Birmingham

 ========= Old Image Removed =========1654611289 
1471824086

While many voters are thinking about the 2016 elections, there’s been a major new development in the 2017 Birmingham mayoral race: assistant city attorney and school board member Randall Woodfin told WBHM late Sunday that he will run for mayor.

Woodfin says he wants to “revitalize the way politics are done in Birmingham” and to “make the city more transparent with our tax dollars.” And he thinks Birmingham voters “see 2017 as a change election.”

Woodfin has been a city attorney for seven years. He’s been on the school board for three years, serving most of that time as board president. The 35-year-old calls himself “young, but not new.”

“City Hall needs a reset button,” he says. “We need someone who’ll both support our small businesses and put our younger generation first.” He mentioned uneven quality of life across Birmingham’s 99 neighborhoods and the perception that, in some parts of town, “people aren’t safe on their own porches.”

Woodfin’s campaign is set to officially kick off Saturday morning at the North Birmingham Recreation Center, very close to where he went to elementary school.

A spokesperson for incumbent Mayor William Bell said Sunday that Bell will run in the 2017 election.

Candidates for mayor can start raising money one year before the election. That’s today, August 22.

 

4 takeaways from Erin Patterson’s testimony at her toxic mushroom triple murder trial

Patterson is accused of putting death cap mushrooms in a meal she served her estranged husband's relatives in July 2023, killing three. She took the stand in Week 6 of the trial gripping Australia.

Torture and treason trials: what’s happening in Tanzania?

Tanzania's government is facing growing accusations of repression after prominent human rights defenders say they were beaten and sexually assaulted while in custody.

International students in the U.S.: Who they are, where they’re from

The Trump administration continues to target foreign nationals looking to attend U.S. universities. Here's a closer look at who these students are, where they come from and what they study.

‘You barely see people out’: How immigration raids are reshaping daily life in Puerto Rico’s Dominican enclave

Puerto Rico's Dominican immigrant community is on edge following a series of immigration raids, which started in January. People have stopped going to work, sending kids to school, or attending medical appointments. What was once a lively barrio is now mostly quiet in the wake of the crackdown.

A baklava crawl in the Turkish city that’s obsessed with the pastry

Here's how the Turkish city of Gaziantep became synonymous with baklava, the sweet pastry made of layers of phyllo dough, filled with nuts and soaked in syrup or honey.

WorldPride caps off its first D.C. celebration with a weekend parade

The global LGBTQ+ festival was held for the first time in the nation's capital. Organizers say the current political environment has dampened the excitement surrounding the celebration.

More Front Page Coverage