Birmingham Election Qualifying Ends This Week — Who’s In?

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2016/09/BIRMINGHAM-CITY-COUNCIL-600x338.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:338;s:4:"file";s:43:"2016/09/BIRMINGHAM-CITY-COUNCIL-600x338.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:6:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:43:"BIRMINGHAM-CITY-COUNCIL-600x338-336x189.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:189;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:43:"BIRMINGHAM-CITY-COUNCIL-600x338-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:41:"BIRMINGHAM-CITY-COUNCIL-600x338-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:43:"BIRMINGHAM-CITY-COUNCIL-600x338-552x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:552;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:43:"BIRMINGHAM-CITY-COUNCIL-600x338-470x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:470;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:43:"BIRMINGHAM-CITY-COUNCIL-600x338-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_imagify_optimization_level] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1
        )

    [_media_credit] => Array
        (
            [0] => Ashley Cleek
        )

    [_navis_media_credit_org] => Array
        (
            [0] => WBHM
        )

    [_navis_media_can_distribute] => Array
        (
            [0] => 
        )

    [_imagify_data] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:2:{s:5:"stats";a:3:{s:13:"original_size";i:192514;s:14:"optimized_size";i:131653;s:7:"percent";d:31.609999999999999;}s:5:"sizes";a:9:{s:4:"full";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:71:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2016/09/BIRMINGHAM-CITY-COUNCIL-600x338.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:44039;s:14:"optimized_size";i:29715;s:7:"percent";d:32.530000000000001;}s:9:"thumbnail";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:6:"medium";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:79:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2016/09/BIRMINGHAM-CITY-COUNCIL-600x338-336x189.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:17805;s:14:"optimized_size";i:13377;s:7:"percent";d:24.870000000000001;}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:79:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2016/09/BIRMINGHAM-CITY-COUNCIL-600x338-600x338.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:44020;s:14:"optimized_size";i:29679;s:7:"percent";d:32.579999999999998;}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:79:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2016/09/BIRMINGHAM-CITY-COUNCIL-600x338-300x300.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:20985;s:14:"optimized_size";i:14337;s:7:"percent";d:31.68;}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:79:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2016/09/BIRMINGHAM-CITY-COUNCIL-600x338-552x311.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:36492;s:14:"optimized_size";i:24664;s:7:"percent";d:32.409999999999997;}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:79:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2016/09/BIRMINGHAM-CITY-COUNCIL-600x338-470x265.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:29173;s:14:"optimized_size";i:19881;s:7:"percent";d:31.850000000000001;}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}}}
        )

    [_imagify_status] => Array
        (
            [0] => success
        )

)
1654547601 
1499232164

Qualifying for Birmingham city elections ends this week, and the list of candidates so far includes several incumbents and other familiar names.

Council incumbents Lashunda Scales, Kim Rafferty, Valerie Abbott, Sheila Tyson and Jay Roberson have all qualified to run. Among school board incumbents, Cheri Gardner, Wardine Alexander, and Sandra Brown have qualified.

City Councilman Marcus Lundy is not seeking re-election. His seat on District 9 has attracted five candidates so far, including Roderick Royal, who previously represented the district, and John Hilliard, a former state representative.

Qualifying ends at 5 p.m. on Friday, July 7. (UPDATE: Click here to see those who qualified by the deadline).

The qualifying fee for mayoral candidates is $300, council is $50, and school board is $100. Candidates must qualify in the Jefferson County Probate Court.

As of Friday evening, 40 people had qualified to run for mayor, council, or school board.

Here’s the current list of candidates:

Mayor

Christopher Wyatt Woods

Lanny Edward Jackson

Ronaldo Merrell Davis

Randall Lee Woodfin

 

Council District 1

Lashunda Scales

Sherman Collins

 

 

School Board District 1

Bennie M. Holmes

Cedric Small

 

Council District 2

Kimberly Rafferty

Thomas Hunter Molton Williams

Tyrone Williams

 

Council District 3

Joseph Ryan Jones

Valerie Abbott

 

School Board District 3

Mary Boehm

Larry Contri

 

School Board District 4

Amber Marie Courtney

 

Council District 5

Dorothea Crosby

Eloise Manning

Darrell O’Quinn

David Schatz

Robert Walker

 

School Board District 5

Michael Millsap Jr.

Aaisha Muhammad

David McKinney

Buford Burkes

 

Council District 6

Sheila Tyson

Keith Williams

 

School Board District 6

Cheri Adams Gardner

 

Council District 7  

Lonnie Malone

Jay Roberson

 

School Board District 7

Patricia McAdory

Wardine Alexander

 

Council District 8

Lynette Peters

 

School Board District 8

Antwon Womack

 

Council District 9

Reginald Swanson

David Russell

Roderick Van Royal

Wendell Warren Major

John Randall Hilliard

 

School Board District 9

Sandra Kelley Brown

 

NOTE: In some races, no candidates have qualified.

 

DHS memo details how National Guard troops will be used for immigration enforcement

The memo obtained by NPR says troops would be used in activities, including in "night operations and rural interdiction," as well as "guard duty and riot control" inside detention facilities.

Court fees can pile up. An effort to make a more effective system stalls after Trump administration cuts

Court fines and fees are meant to hold people accountable. But for many, they lead to debt, arrest, and a cycle that’s hard to break. A project that started in Birmingham explored aimed to make the system better. But recently, the Trump Administration cancelled an effort to expand the research.

On Japanese Breakfast’s melancholic record, Michelle Zauner might be ‘the happiest’ she’s ever been

Zauner joins us to talk about some of the themes behind For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women).

South Korean maestro Chung will be the first Asian to head Italy’s famed La Scala

Myung-Whun Chung will be one of the first non-Italians to take the post of music director at Milan's famous opera house.

‘The Life of Chuck’ might leave you brushing away tears — or scratching your head

Mike Flanagan's new film, a maudlin mystery about a man dying of cancer, feels hobbled by its extreme faithfulness to the Stephen King novella on which its based.

RFK Jr. is shrinking the agency that works on mental illness and addiction

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration has seen its staff cut by more than a third, and it's facing deep budget cuts. Progress on overdose deaths could be lost, experts warn.

More 2017 Birmingham City Elections Coverage