The Breakdown: How Woodfin and Bell Fared Around the City

Sherrel Stewart | August 24, 2017

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If you want to know how 36-year-old former school board president Randall Woodfin captured the largest percentage of votes in his bid to beat incumbent Mayor William Bell, just look at the numbers.

Out of 69 precincts, Bell carried victory in 39. Woodfin won 30, but he had considerably larger margins in most of those.

In a WBHM analysis of the unofficial box totals from Tuesday’s municipal election, Woodfin had a spread of 45 to 60 percentage points in his biggest box wins.

For example, at Crestwood Community Education South, Woodfin received 847 of the 1,205 ballots cast, for 70 percent of the total Bell received only 188 votes there.

Bell’s strongest support was at his home box – Legion Field, where 28 percent of residents voted. He made his strongest showing at some of the boxes with higher turnout. He carried Bethel Baptist Church in Pratt City, where 39 percent of registered voters went to the polls. He also was the top candidate at Sixth Avenue Baptist Church, Sun Valley Elementary, and Charles A. Brown School, which each had more than 30 percent turnout.

Avondale Elementary School had the highest percentage of voters on Tuesday, with 40 percent of its 1,969 voters going to the polls. Woodfin carried that box with 68 percent of the total, compared with 16 percent for Bell.

Woodfin’s strongest show of support was at the Avondale Public Library. There, he received 72 percent of the 702 votes cast to Bell’s 17 percent. At that location, 31 percent of the registered voters cast ballots.

At Fire Station 12 in Woodlawn, where 31 percent of the voters cast ballots, Woodfin received 67 percent of the votes. Bell received 20 percent – 172 votes. That location had a 31 percent voter turnout.

Building contractor Chris Woods was a distant third at most polling places. Still, Woods did not win precincts. His highest totals were at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Huffman, where he received 393 votes, and at Legion Field, where he received 246 votes.