Randall Woodfin to Run for Mayor of Birmingham

 ========= Old Image Removed =========1677074583 
1471824086

While many voters are thinking about the 2016 elections, there’s been a major new development in the 2017 Birmingham mayoral race: assistant city attorney and school board member Randall Woodfin told WBHM late Sunday that he will run for mayor.

Woodfin says he wants to “revitalize the way politics are done in Birmingham” and to “make the city more transparent with our tax dollars.” And he thinks Birmingham voters “see 2017 as a change election.”

Woodfin has been a city attorney for seven years. He’s been on the school board for three years, serving most of that time as board president. The 35-year-old calls himself “young, but not new.”

“City Hall needs a reset button,” he says. “We need someone who’ll both support our small businesses and put our younger generation first.” He mentioned uneven quality of life across Birmingham’s 99 neighborhoods and the perception that, in some parts of town, “people aren’t safe on their own porches.”

Woodfin’s campaign is set to officially kick off Saturday morning at the North Birmingham Recreation Center, very close to where he went to elementary school.

A spokesperson for incumbent Mayor William Bell said Sunday that Bell will run in the 2017 election.

Candidates for mayor can start raising money one year before the election. That’s today, August 22.

 

Team USA faces tough Canadian squad in Olympic gold medal hockey game

In the first Olympics with stars of the NHL competing in over a decade, a talent-packed Team USA faces a tough test against Canada.

PHOTOS: Your car has a lot to say about who you are

Photographer Martin Roemer visited 22 countries — from the U.S. to Senegal to India — to show how our identities are connected to our mode of transportation.

Looking for life purpose? Start with building social ties

Research shows that having a sense of purpose can lower stress levels and boost our mental health. Finding meaning may not have to be an ambitious project.

Danish military evacuates US submariner who needed urgent medical care off Greenland

Denmark's military says its arctic command forces evacuated a crew member of a U.S. submarine off the coast of Greenland for urgent medical treatment.

Only a fraction of House seats are competitive. Redistricting is driving that lower

Primary voters in a small number of districts play an outsized role in deciding who wins Congress. The Trump-initiated mid-decade redistricting is driving that number of competitive seats even lower.

Homeland Security suspends TSA PreCheck and Global Entry airport security programs

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is suspending the TSA PreCheck and Global Entry airport security programs as a partial government shutdown continues.

More Front Page Coverage