One Birmingham City Council Seat Goes to a Runoff; Two Incumbents Returned to the Council
By Robert Carter and Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
One Birmingham City Council seat will be up for a runoff after none of the candidates won more than 50 percent of the votes in Tuesday’s balloting.
Wardine Towers Alexander will face Ray Brooks on Nov. 19 in a runoff for the council District 7 seat. Alexander won 42.41% of the vote to challenger Ray Brooks’ 30.88%.
Two other races were decided Tuesday. Crystal Smitherman will return as council District 6 councilor, having garnered 51.50% of the vote in a seven-candidate field. In the District 1 race, Clinton Woods will return to the council, with 71.27% of the vote in his district.
The three propositions to renew separate ad valorem taxes all passed by wide margins, with those voting yes in each race amounting to about 90%.
Reporting of full results was delayed until Wednesday because of an error in the handling of electronic machine memory cards at three different precincts.
The cards from the Martha Gaskins School, Robinson Elementary School and Five Points West precincts were sealed inside boxes that contained the paper ballots filled out by voters. Officials with the Birmingham City Clerk’s office had to get a court order Wednesday morning to allow them to open the box and add those votes to the total.
With almost 99 percent of the vote counted, here are vote totals and percentages.
City Council D1
Sherman Collins Jr. 670 27.07
Haki Jamaal Muhammad 41 1.66
Clinton Woods 1,764 71.27
City Council D6
Willine Body 50 2.00
Carlos Chaverst 349 13.99
LaTanya Millhouse 265 10.60
Clarence Muhammad 127 5.08
Crystal Smitherman 1,287 51.50
Keith O. Williams 41 1.64
Onoyemi “Oni” Williams 380 15.21
City Council D7
Wardine Towers Alexander 1,159 42.41
Ray Brooks 844 30.88
Lonnie Franklin Malone 730 26.71
School Taxes
Proposition 1
Yes 14,144 90.02
No 1,568 9.98
Proposition 2
Yes 14,127 90.03
No 1,564 9.97
Proposition 3
Yes 13,992 89.19
No 1,696 10.81
Two US Navy pilots shot down over Red Sea in apparent ‘friendly fire’ incident
Two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down Sunday over the Red Sea by apparent "friendly fire", the most serious incident to threaten troops in over a year of America targeting Yemen's Houthi rebels.
Party City files for bankruptcy and plans to shutter nationwide
Party City was once unmatched in its vast selection of affordable celebration goods. But over the years, competition stacked up at Walmart, Target, Spirit Halloween, and especially Amazon.
Sudan’s biggest refugee camp was already struck with famine. Now it’s being shelled
The siege, blamed on the Rapid Support Forces, has sparked a new humanitarian catastrophe and marks an alarming turning point in the Darfur region, already overrun by violence.
FDA approves weight loss drug Zepbound to treat obstructive sleep apnea
The FDA said studies have shown that by aiding weight loss, Zepbound improves sleep apnea symptoms in some patients.
Netflix is dreaming of a glitch-free Christmas with 2 major NFL games set
It comes weeks after Netflix's attempt to broadcast live boxing between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson was rife with technical glitches.
Big dreams: He’s the founder of a leading African photobook library
Paul Ninson had an old-school, newfangled dream: a modern library devoted to photobooks showing life on the continent. He maxed out his credit cards, injured his back — and made it happen.
