Focus on Birmingham Mayor’s Race as Election Revs Up

On August 22, Birmingham voters will elect a mayor, council and school board. Qualifying began Friday, and dozens are expected to enter the races.

Between the mayor’s race, city council and school board – 19 seats in all are up for grabs. But the big focus is on the mayor’s race and on voter turnout.

Birmingham Mayor William won the last two elections without a runoff.

But Natalie Davis, a Birmingham-based political scientist says this year’s race “obviously is  a referendum on the current Mayor William Bell.”

She says voters are familiar with Bell, but they’ll be carefully weighing whether he should win another term. They’ll consider key questions such as: “Do I want to keep this guy around as mayor?  Am I satisfied with the quality of his leadership?”

Bell was first elected mayor in 2009. He won a special election to replace former Mayor Larry Langford who was sentenced to prison on federal bribery charges. Bell has been an almost constant presence in city politics since his first election to the council in 1979.

In this race for mayor, he faces a field of candidates that likely includes Frank Matthews, a former campaign staffer for Bell; Randall Woodfin, a city attorney and school board member;   Philemon Hill, a young businessman; Brother Fernandez Sims, a minister; Lanny Jackson, an Ensley resident; and Chris Woods, a construction company owner. Woods sued the city in connection with a contract dispute, and was awarded a $2.5 million settlement last October.

Davis, the political scientist, says the race may come down to whether Bell has made enemies during his time as mayor, and whether those enemies are  positioned to work hard to take him out.

The mayor’s relationship with some council members has been contentious,  but no council members have announced plans to run for mayor. And only one council member – Marcus Lundy – says he’s not running for re-election.

Emory Anthony is leader of the Progressive Democratic Council, one of city’s oldest political action groups. He says one of the greatest concerns in the upcoming election is voter turnout.

Turnout in Birmingham elections has been historically low. In 2013, only about a fifth of the city’s voters went to the polls.

“We’re within 90 days of an election, and there’s no real fire about anything,” Anthony says. “And it’s frightening to me because generally it means, it’s going to be a low turnout.”

Anthony says the Progressive Democratic Council will work to educate voters and encourage them to go to the polls, but the candidates will drive turnout.

Council President Johnathan Austin, who is seeking re-election, says part of the reason for low voter turnout is that some voters are frustrated with city elected officials.

He says the voters think “they’re not going to do anything for me. They’re going to fight. They’re going to continue to build up downtown and don’t take any interest in my neighborhood. I’m not going to be able to get a job.”

This kind of thinking prevents or discourages voters from going to polls, Austin says. “They feel that things are not going to change.”

Things may not change. More than half the city council and the mayor have served at least two terms already.