Voters Hope Woodfin Fulfills Promises For Better Birmingham
Randall Woodfin takes over as mayor of Birmingham on Nov. 28. He overwhelmingly beat incumbent Mayor William Bell in this month’s runoff. On the campaign trail, the 36-year-old Woodfin promised a better Birmingham. Now residents say they expect him to deliver on those promises.
Videos, radio and tv ads, fliers — Randall Woodfin used an arsenal of tools in his mayoral campaign to blast a message: Birmingham deserves better, safer neighborhoods, more sidewalks, and economic opportunities.
It worked. Hundreds of people packed into a Southside hall to celebrate his victory October 3rd. Lori Chatman wasn’t there; she didn’t support Woodfin. She’s a nurse and a graduate of Parker High School.
“Living here all my life, I’ve seen African Americans struggle to try to make it,” she says. “I want everybody to have a chance to show what they can do or become, just have a little bit more of the pie in downtown.”
Chatman visits Railroad Park regularly, taking note of the development around downtown. She gives a lot of credit to outgoing Mayor William Bell.
“I saw the city growing with the current mayor,” Chatman says. “When you have someone new coming in, you’re always like, hold on does he really know what he’s doing?”
For the city’s sake, Chatman hopes Woodfin backs up his words with action.
Dave Higginbotham says he’s heard promises before, and they went unfulfilled. That’s why this time he voted for Randall Woodfin.
Higginbotham lives near midtown and gets around the area in a motorized wheelchair. He has a short wish list: mainly sidewalks and ramp improvements. He has high hopes for Woodfin.
“He’s young. He’s from a rough neighborhood. He understands,” Higginbotham says. “Woodfin did mention about improving sidewalks. You wouldn’t believe how rough these sidewalks are – even 20th Street.”
Kiwi Lanier, a 25-year-old graduate student who lives in Glen Iris, compares Birmingham to Austin, Texas, where she recently attended school.
Over breakfast in a downtown coffee shop, Lanier says she’s hoping Woodfin will lead Birmingham to become a destination.
“I think he’ll be able to help us grow more sustainably and attract more new businesses to the city to make sure people who live here have jobs,” she says. “make sure Birmingham is place where people want to live.”
Lanier says she’s encouraged by Woodfin’s first moves – like naming her former college president Gen. Charles Krulak of Birmingham Southern, as a leader on his transition team. She also wants Woodfin to improve recycling around the city.
A lot of people – about 25,000 — placed their hopes in Randall Woodfin in this month’s election. In just a few weeks, the 36-year-old former assistant city attorney, gets his chance to make those hopes real.
Immigration enforcement ramps up, tensions persist in big cities
Cities prepare for nationwide protests on Saturday.
Federal judge says he could release Mahmoud Khalil as soon as this week
Judge Michael Farbiarz said the government cannot keep Khalil detained based on its accusation that he threatens U.S. foreign policy goals. But the judge gave the government time to appeal.
RFK Jr. names new slate of vaccine advisers after purging CDC panel
Two days after firing vaccine experts who help set the nation's immunization policies, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has picked eight successors for the CDC panel.
Leaders of ‘orgasmic meditation’ company were convicted of forced labor: What to know
OneTaste billed itself as a sexual wellness business centered on "orgasmic meditation." Prosecutors said former leaders subjected victims to sexual and emotional abuse.
LA braces for Marines as California sues to stop military involvement
With the federalized National Guard deployed against the state's wishes and the Marines on the way to L.A., there are growing concerns about the policing role of the military.
In Miami, deportations are raising concerns among Cuban-Americans
South Florida's Cuban-American community supports President Trump, but some members are uneasy with his immigration policies. "I'm not for deporting people without criminal records."
