Woodfin Wins. Birmingham Voters Deny Bell Another Term
Birmingham voters on Tuesday elected Randall Woodfin the city’s new mayor. Woodfin took 59 percent of the vote to incumbent Mayor William Bell’s 41 percent, according to unofficial results. The two candidates took different approaches as they vied for the mayor’s seat in the weeks after the August municipal election. That race resulted in a runoff. Bell touted his experience while Woodfin, 36, promoted change.
Our Revolution, a group that emerged from the presidential campaign of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders to support progressive leaders, invested heavily in Woodfin’s campaign. The group sent more than 11,000 get-out-the-vote text messages and made hundreds of phone calls to Woodfin’s would-be constituents.
The group’s president, Nina Turner, said in a statement she expects Woodfin to be committed to enacting a progressive agenda serving the needs of all the city’s residents, echoing a campaign promise of Woodfin’s. Disparities around the city when it came to crime and revitalization were a common theme during the campaign.
Bell didn’t immediately concede the election Tuesday night, but eventually he said Birmingham residents spoke at the ballot box. The 68-year-old has been mayor since 2009. Though he won more boxes than Woodfin in the August 22 election, Bell won far fewer during the runoff, including his home precinct of Legion Field.
Woodfin is set to begin his term November 28.
Other Election Results:
City Council
Birmingham City Council Johnathan Austin lost his seat to challenger Darrell O’Quinn in the District 5 race. Quinn trailed Austin at first, but came out ahead later with almost 52 percent of the vote.
In District 2, Kim Rafferty lost her seat to Hunter Williams, who took 71 percent of the vote.
In Distrcit 9, John Hilliard narrowly beat Roderick Royal — 50.58 to 49.42.
Board of Education
District 1
Douglas Lee Ragland – 51.7 percent
Cedric Small – 48.3 percent
District 4
Daagye Hendricks – 51.2 percent
Edward Maddox – 48.8 percent
District 5
David McKinney – 43.4 percent
Michael Millsap – 56.6 percent
District 7
Patricia Spigner McAdory – 60 percent
Walter Wilson – 40 percent
District 8
Patricia Bozeman-Henderson – 36.3 percent
Sonja Q. Smith – 63.7 percent
Former housekeepers accuse Smokey Robinson of rape, sexual battery
A lawsuit filed on behalf of four women accuses R&B legend Smokey Robinson of sexual misconduct.
Why oil prices are falling, and what it means for the economy
Between tariffs roiling the global economy and OPEC putting more barrels on the market, prices have dropped significantly since January. That's good for consumers, and bad for oil companies.
Hegseth says he’s a change agent at DoD. But details are scarce
The most detailed plan to reshape the Army began taking shape long before Pete Hegseth's arrival as secretary of defense.
India launches missile attacks on Pakistan
India has launched strikes in several parts of Pakistan and Pakistan-controlled territory, in a dramatic escalation of tensions between the two nuclear-armed rivals.
States win a legal injunction against President Trump, pausing library funding cuts
A federal judge Tuesday wrote that President Trump's executive order dismantling the IMLS "disregards the fundamental constitutional role of each of the branches of our federal government."
Major deepfake porn site shuts down
MrDeepFakes said that a critical service provider terminated service, resulting in massive data loss. The site, which featured nonconsensual, sexually explicit content, said it would not relaunch.
