2021 Birmingham, Alabama, mayoral election explained

The 2021 Birmingham mayoral election was held on August 24, 2021, to elect the mayor of Birmingham, Alabama. Incumbent Democratic mayor Randall Woodfin was re-elected to a second term.^[1]

Background

Woodfin was first elected in 2017, defeating incumbent mayor William A. Bell in a runoff. He was a keynote speaker at the 2020 Democratic National Convention. During his first term, he faced criticism for furloughing some city employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, committing $3 million per year to the Protective Stadium, creating a city-funded scholarship program, and replacing Birmingham's police chief, though he has defended all the aforementioned decisions. In his reelection campaign, Woodfin primarily touted his accomplishments in renovating several dilapidated areas of the city and reforming the city's police department. A primary issue in the campaign was the results of the 2020 United States census, which showed that Huntsville had surpassed Birmingham as Alabama's most populous city. Woodfin believed that Birmingham's population loss was due to a brain drain, and pointed out that the aforementioned scholarship program could help keep high school graduates in the city.^[2]

Candidates

Confirmed

• Cerissa Brown, mental health advocate^{[3] [4] [5]}
• William A. Bell, former mayor^{[6] [4] [5]}
• Napoleon Gonzalez^[5]
• Philemon Hill, mechanical engineer and candidate for mayor in 2017^{[7] [5]}
• Lashunda Scales, President pro tempore of the Jefferson County commission^{[5] [8]}
• Darryl Williams, house refurbisher^{[4] [5] [8]}
• Randall Woodfin, incumbent mayor^{[9] [4] [5]}
• Chris Woods, businessman, former National Football League player, nephew of Abraham Woods, and candidate for mayor in 1995 and 2017^{[10] [4] [5] [8]}

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Randall Woodfin	William Bell	Lashaunda Scales	Others	Undecided
Birmingham Times[11]	May 11–June 4, 2021	250 (LV)	± 6.2%		52%	10%	11%	4%	23%
Chism Strategies[12]	April 1–5, 2021	662 (LV)	± 3.9%		49%		14%	12%	21%	–

Debates

Results

External links

Official campaign websites

• Cerissa Brown for Mayor
• William A. Bell (D) for Mayor
• Lashunda Scales for Mayor
• Randall Woodfin (D) for Mayor
• Chris Woods for Mayor

Notes and References

1. 1430365340509294595. CBS_42. Mayor Randall Woodfin has won a.... 25 August 2021.
2. Web site: Can Mayor Randall Woodfin win without a runoff?. August 22, 2021. al.
3. News: Field Of Candidates For Birmingham Mayor Continues To Grow . Sam . Prickett . WBHM 90.3 . March 1, 2021 .
4. News: Garrison. Greg. July 14, 2021. Birmingham mayoral race 2021: Who's running?. AL.com. July 9, 2021. live. August 7, 2021. https://archive.today/20210807134900/https://www.al.com/news/2021/07/whos-running-challengers-line-up-for-mayor-woodfin.html. August 7, 2021.
5. News: July 15, 2021. City of Birmingham preparing for municipal election on Aug. 24. WVTM-TV. Birmingham, Ala.. live. August 7, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210716121254/https://www.wvtm13.com/article/city-of-birmingham-preparing-for-municipal-election-on-august-24/37029273. July 16, 2021.
6. News: Former Birmingham Mayor William Bell announces mayoral bid . March 2, 2021 . John . Glenn . Alabama Political Reporter .
7. Web site: Prickett. Sam. August 4, 2017. Ervin Philemon Hill II. August 7, 2017. BirminghamWatch. en-US.
8. Web site: Five candidates for Birmingham mayor have never held office. August 23, 2021. al.
9. Web site: Randall Woodfin raises $270K – in one week – for second term as Birmingham Mayor . Birmingham Times . September 8, 2020 .
10. News: Birmingham Mayor's Race: Who's in right now . January 19, 2021 . WBRC .
11. https://www.birminghamtimes.com/2021/06/poll-woodfin-has-commanding-lead-in-2021-birmingham-mayors-race/ Birmingham Times
12. https://www.alreporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/CS-Woodfin-Report.pdf Chism Strategies
13. Web site: Birmingham mayoral candidates debate at Lawson State. WVTM 13. Digital. August 14, 2021. WVTM.
14. Web site: Mayoral Election 2021: Birmingham Times, other local media hosting debate. Birmingham. Times. August 11, 2021.