Birmingham Races Draw Crowds; A Dozen Candidates in Mayor’s Race

| July 8, 2017 

 ========= Old Image Removed =========1Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2015/12/city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:480;s:6:"height";i:470;s:4:"file";s:49:"2015/12/city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:8:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268-336x329.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:329;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268-140x140.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:47:"city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268-480x338.jpg";s:5:"width";i:480;s:6:"height";i:338;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268-318x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:318;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268-271x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:271;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:28:"ab-block-post-grid-landscape";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268-480x400.jpg";s:5:"width";i:480;s:6:"height";i:400;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:49:"city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268-125x125.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:{}}}
        )

    [_media_credit] => Array
        (
            [0] => Esther Ciammachilli
        )

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

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

    [_wp_attachment_backup_sizes] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:7:{s:9:"full-orig";a:3:{s:5:"width";i:480;s:6:"height";i:640;s:4:"file";s:26:"city-hall-photo-esther.jpg";}s:14:"thumbnail-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:34:"city-hall-photo-esther-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:11:"medium-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:34:"city-hall-photo-esther-336x448.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:448;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:34:"city-hall-photo-esther-254x338.jpg";s:5:"width";i:254;s:6:"height";i:338;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:23:"wbhm-featured-home-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:34:"city-hall-photo-esther-233x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:233;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:27:"wbhm-featured-carousel-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:34:"city-hall-photo-esther-199x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:199;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:19:"post-thumbnail-orig";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:34:"city-hall-photo-esther-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}
        )

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

    [_imagify_data] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:2:{s:5:"stats";a:3:{s:13:"original_size";i:201939;s:14:"optimized_size";i:147536;s:7:"percent";d:26.940000000000001;}s:5:"sizes";a:9:{s:4:"full";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:77:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/12/city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:55217;s:14:"optimized_size";i:40065;s:7:"percent";d:27.440000000000001;}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:85:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/12/city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268-336x329.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:29093;s:14:"optimized_size";i:21202;s:7:"percent";d:27.120000000000001;}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:83:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/12/city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268-80x80.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:3353;s:14:"optimized_size";i:3320;s:7:"percent";d:0.97999999999999998;}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:85:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/12/city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268-480x338.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:41498;s:14:"optimized_size";i:30055;s:7:"percent";d:27.57;}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:85:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/12/city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268-300x300.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:25039;s:14:"optimized_size";i:18263;s:7:"percent";d:27.059999999999999;}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:85:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/12/city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268-318x311.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:26877;s:14:"optimized_size";i:19458;s:7:"percent";d:27.600000000000001;}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:85:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2015/12/city-hall-photo-esther-e1450825905268-271x265.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:20862;s:14:"optimized_size";i:15173;s:7:"percent";d:27.27;}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
        )

)
1656243373 
1499504596

Birmingham City Hall.

Esther Ciammachilli, WBHM

No one gets a free pass into office this year in Birmingham. The 19 races on the ballot for the upcoming city elections are all contested, with 88 candidates signing up Friday before the 5 p.m. deadline.

The largest number of candidates want the job as mayor. A dozen people are running, including incumbent William Bell. The District 2 City Council race in east Birmingham and the District 5 City Council race in central Birmingham are also popular with eight candidates each. Kimberly Rafferty is the current District 2 councilwoman, and Johnathan Austin is the current District 5 councilman.

Council incumbents Lashunda Scales, Kim Rafferty, Valerie Abbott, William Parker, Johnathan Austin, Sheila Tyson, Steven Hoyt and Jay Roberson are all running for re-election. Only one city council member – Marcus Lundy – is not running.

Birmingham’s school board could have a much different look after the election on Aug. 22. Three school board members – April Williams, Lyord Watson and Brian Giattina are not running for re-election. Another school board member – Randall Woodfin — is running for mayor, and board member Sherman Collins is running for city council in District 1.

Board members Wardine Alexander, Sandra Brown, Cheri Gardner, and Daagye Hendricks are seeking re-election.

 

Here’s the list of candidates:

Mayor

Christopher Wyatt Woods

Lanny Edward Jackson

Ronaldo Merrell Davis

Randall Lee Woodfin

William Bell Sr. (I)

Carl Jackson

Frank James Matthews

Ervin Hill II

Donald T. Lomax

Patricia Bell

Brother Fernandez Sims

Trudy Hunter

 

Council District 1

Lashunda Scales (I)

Sherman Collins

 

School Board District 1

Bennie M. Holmes

Cedric Small

Douglas Ragland

Jerry Tate

Keith Rice

 

Council District 2

Kimberly Rafferty (I)

Thomas Hunter Molton Williams

Tyrone Williams

Lawrence Conway

Kimberly Jeanty

Stephen L. Murphy

Deanna Reed

Jordan Thompson

 

School Board District 2

Teresa Michal

Brandon McCray

 

Council District 3

Joseph Ryan Jones

Valerie Abbott (I)

Rowan Henderson

 

School Board District 3

Mary Drennen Boehm

Larry Contri

 

Council District 4

Qunelius Pettway

William Parker (I)

Sergio Williams

Mary Jean Lamay

 

 

School Board District 4

Amber Marie Courtney

Edward Maddox

Daagye Hendricks (I)

 

Council District 5

Dorothea Crosby

Darrell O’Quinn

David Schatz

Robert Walker

Christopher Davis

Johnathan Austin (I)

Erica Robbins

 

School Board District 5

Michael Millsap Jr.

Aaisha Muhammad

David McKinney

Buford Burkes

Angela Scoggins-Watson

Andrea Mitchell

Martha McDowell

Eloise Manning Crenshaw

Council District 6

Sheila Tyson (I)

Keith Williams

Keith Mims

 

School Board District 6

Cheri Adams Gardner (I)

Ervin Hill

Lavon Beard

 

 

Council District 7  

Lonnie Malone

James (Jay) Roberson (I)

Jeffery Rowser

Hosea Lewis

Titus Battle

 

School Board District 7

Patricia McAdory

Wardine Alexander (I)

Walter Wilson

 

Council District 8

Lynette Peters

Steven Hoyt (I)

Adlai Trone

Gerri Robinson

 

School Board District 8

Antwon Womack

Tyrone Silmon

Sonja Smith

Patricia Henderson

 

Council District 9

Reginald Swanson

David Russell

Roderick Van Royal

Wendell Warren Major

John Randall Hilliard

Angene Coleman

Eric Hall

James Williams Jr.

 

 

School Board District 9

Sandra Kelley Brown (I)

Lawrence Jackson

 

The Trump administration says it wants to eliminate FEMA. Here’s what we know

Every year, millions of Americans rely on FEMA assistance after hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes and other disasters. The president says state governments should do more.

‘Equal dignity’: U.S. map shows the impact of Obergefell v. Hodges decision

"They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law," then-Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the June 26, 2015, ruling legalizing same-sex marriage. "The Constitution grants them that right."

Michelle Obama addresses *those* divorce rumors — and how she defines her own story

Michelle Obama is in a place in her life where she gets to integrate her public and private self a little more. She tells Rachel that means saying "no" to some of the things that are expected of her.

Forget ‘total obliteration’ — experts say Iran and U.S. need to negotiate

President Trump doubled down on his claims that the U.S. strikes in Iran last weekend "obliterated" its key nuclear facilities. But experts say that regardless of the amount of damage done to Iran's nuclear facilities, deliberate negotiations leading to a lasting agreement are crucial to prevent the resumption of war.

What the Class of 2025 has to say about the state of higher education

Three graduating college seniors reflect on how their final semester, during the Trump presidency, has changed how they think about higher education.

Nursing homes face 2 threats: Trump’s Medicaid cuts and his immigration crackdown

Understaffed nursing homes rely on an immigrant workforce. Cuts to Medicaid and a tough immigration policy amount to a double whammy for the long-term care industry.

More 2017 Birmingham City Elections Coverage