Birmingham Municipal Elections 2021: What To Know

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Birmingham voters will head to the polls Tuesday for the city's mayoral, council and Board of Education seats. Polls open at 7 a.m. and will remain open until 7 p.m.

The race for Birmingham's mayor is a crowded field, with eight candidates vying for the position. Incumbent Randall Woodfin faces challenges from former mayor William Bell, a former Birmingham City Councilor in LaShunda Scales and a host of other candidates looking to unseat him.

The Birmingham City Council races have only one seat that is uncontested in District 1. The other seats all have multiple candidates vying for their respective positions.

The Birmingham Board of Education elections have 21 total candidates, also comprising a crowded field.

Here are the candidates on the ballot for mayor:

William Bell: Mayor of Birmingham, 2010-17; president pro tempore, Jefferson County Commission, 2008-10; member, Birmingham City Council, 1979-2001 and council president, 1985-93, 1997-2001.

Cerissa Brown: Entrepreneur, Call Center Customer Service with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama for more than 21 years.

Napoleon Gonzalez: First-time candidate for office in Birmingham.

Philemon Hill: Organizer, Magic City Diamond Classic, 2017; organizer, Magic City Hardwood Classic; organizer, Legacy Sports Business and Industry Academy’s Education Beyond the Classroom Initiative.

Lashinda Scales: District 1 representative to the City Council for three terms. Defeated George Bowman for District 1 seat on the Jefferson County Commission in 2018.

Darryl Williams: Birmingham businessman who is running for public office for the first time.

Randall Woodfin: Mayor of Birmingham since 2017, Birmingham Board of Education, 2013-17; president, Birmingham Board of Education, 2013-15.

Chris Woods: President and CEO of C.W. Woods Contracting, LLC.

The Birmingham City Council candidates:

District 1

Clinton Woods: Birmingham city councilor, 2019-present.

District 2

Lawrence Conaway: Candidate, Birmingham City Council District 2, 2017; candidate, Alabama House of Representatives District 54, 2014.

Kimberly Jeanty: Candidate, Birmingham City Council District 2, 2017; committee assistant, Birmingham City Council, 2009-10, 2011-13; neighborhood liaison to Councilor Kim Rafferty’s office, 2009-2011.

Don Scott: First-time candidate.

Hunter Williams: Councilor, Birmingham City Council District 2, 2017-present.

District 3

Valerie Abbott: Birmingham City Council member, 2001-present.

Joseph Baker: Candidate for State Representative for District 54 in 2018.

Wil Jones: First-time political candidate, former U.S. Army sergeant.

Alice Speake: First-time political candidate, former fundraiser for Elizabeth Warren.

District 4

Scottie McClaney: UAB administrator, first-time political candidate.

J.T. Moore: Woodlawn coordinator, Volunteer Lawyers Birmingham, 2019-present.

William Parker: Birmingham city councilor, District 4, 2013-present; Alabama State Representative, District 59, 1998-2002.

Cory Pettway: Candidate, Alabama DNC Delegation, Bernie Sanders, 2020; Alabama Democratic Executive Committee, 2019-present; Jefferson County Democratic Executive Committee, 2018-present; candidate, Birmingham City Council District 4, 2017.

Gwendolyn Cook Webb: Neighborhood president, Inglenook, 2017-21; community president, East Birmingham Community, 2017-21.

District 5

Richard Franklin: President, Birmingham Federation of Teachers Local 2115, 2011-present.

Darrell O'Quinn: Birmingham City Council District 5, 2017-present.

Erica Star Robbins: Entrepreneur, former candidate in District 5 in 2017.

Roshanique Yvette Taylor: Ambassador, City of Birmingham ACE Initiative, 2019-present.

District 6:

Keith Aaron: Former president, Arlington-West End Neighborhood Association

Crystal Smitherman: Birmingham City Councilor, 2019-present

Keith O. Williams: Vice president, North Titusville Neighborhood Association, 2018-present.

District 7

Wardine Alexander: Birmingham City Councilor, 2018-present; president, Birmingham School Board, 2015-2017; member, Birmingham School Board, 2013-2017.

La'Toya Lee: Case manager, Jefferson County Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Authority, 2019-present.

Lonnie Malone: Executive director, The Effective Family Inc., 2012-present.

Donnie Stone: Birmingham businessman, first-time candidate.

District 8

Carol Clarke: Appointed member, Birmingham School Board, 2012; Director of economic development, City of Birmingham, 2003-08; chief administrative assistant, Capital Projects, City of Birmingham, 2000-03.

Barbara Files-Kennedy: Owner, Oncallnotary, 2016-present; founder/executive senior coach, Issues Topics & Solutions, 2016-present behavioral change counselor, UAB, 2007-present.

Lynette Peters: President, vice president and secretary, Ensley Highlands Neighborhood Association.

Celi Soto: Board of Directors, Dynamite Hill-Smithfield Community Land Trust, 2021-present; co-founder, People’s Budget Birmingham, 2020-present; Board of Directors, SWEET Alabama, 2019-present.

Adlai Trone: President, Fairview Neighborhood Association; Member, Advisory Board for Offenders Alumni Association.

Harry Turner: Founder, director, CEO at Traveling Shoes Healing Skater.

D. Denise Webber-Jenkins: Birmingham attorney, first-time candidate.

Wanda Wright: First-time political candidate.

District 9

Eric Hall: Candidate, Birmingham City Council District 9, 2013, 2017; community liaison, Birmingham City Council, 2014-16.

John Hilliard: Birmingham City Council District 9, 2017-present; Alabama State Representative, House District 60, 1993-2003.

David Russell: Member, Jefferson County and Alabama Democratic Executive Committee.

LaTonya Tate: Probation and parole officer, Florida Department of Corrections, 2006-14; Jefferson County Department of Health, 2001-07.

Birmingham Board of Education candidates:

District 1

Sherman Collins: Elected to Board of Education, 2012; ran for City Council, 2019.

Douglas Ragland: Ran for District 1 seat in August 2013; elected to District 1 in 2017.

Jerry Tate: Project management for Alagasco.

District 2

Terry Michal: Elected to School Board in 2017.

Neonta WIlliams: First-time candidate, Substance/alcohol abuse counselor (1998 – 2000); U.S. Army, active duty, 2000-2004.

District 3

Mary Boehm: Elected to District 3 Board of Education, 2017.

Byron Lagrone: First-time candidate, local businessman.

District 4

Derrick Billups: Director of education and workforce development, Woodlawn Foundation, 2019-2021.

Daagye Hendricks: Elected to Birmingham Board of Education, District 4, in 2013; current board president.

District 5

James Sullivan: Entrepreneur, first-time candidate.

David McKinney: Professor at Jefferson State Community College.

District 6

Jamaree’ Collins: Founder, I AmGreatness Inc. Mentoring.

Leticia Watkins: Scientist, Pharmaceutical Product Development; assistant program director, UAB; director of children and youth, Sixth Avenue Baptist Church.

Yancey Williams: U.S. Navy; employee at Birmingham City Schools.

District 7

Walter Williams: Incumbent since February in special election.

District 8

Toni King: Emergency communications director, 911/ 311, City of Birmingham.

Curtis Tyrone Robinson: Adjunct professor, Miles College.

Sonja Smith: Elected to Birmingham Board of Education, District 8, 2017.

Antwon Womack: Ran for mayor of Tarrant in 2008; Ran for BOE District 6 in 2009, dropped out of race; ran for BOE in 2010, later withdrew; ran again in 2013 for BOE.

District 9

Le'Darius Hilliard: Democratic Executive Committee, 2016-president.

Jason Meadows: Woodlawn Foundation, 2018-present.

Susan Diane Mitchell: Local businesswoman, first-time candidate.