Birmingham mayoral candidates, from left:
Kamau Afrika, Pat Bell, William Bell,
Stephannie Huey and Adlai Trone.

Every 4 years, Birmingham has elections for city council. And for mayor, but not on the same cycle. And neither election coincided with state or national elections.

Because.

Tuesday marks a historic change, as both city council and mayoral races will be on the same ballot, along with the board of education races. In 2011, the elections aligned for the first time, though the mayoral term was for an abbreviated 2 years.

Baby steps.

Mayor: Incumbent William Bell, who won a special election in 2009 and then won re-election in 2011, runs for a full 4-year mayoral term against challengers Kamau Afrika, Pat Bell, Stephannie Huey and Adlai Trone.

For city council (by district):

• 1: Pat Davis, Keith Rice, Lashunda Scales (I).
• 2: Rolanda Hollis, Kim Rafferty (I), Richard Rutledge, Neil Shah, Bart Slawson, Everett Wess.
• 4: Maxine Herring Parker (I), Edward Maddox.
• 5: Johnathan Austin (I), Robert Walker.
• 6: Keith Aaron, John “JC” Harris, Willis H. “Buddy” “Mickey Mouse” Hendrix, Latonya Millhouse, Michael R. Morrison, James Stewart, Sheila Tyson.
• 7: Gary Bruce Lavender, Jay Roberson Jr. (I).
• 8: Steven Hoyt (I), Gerri Robinson.
• 9: Leroy Bandy, Angene Coleman, Eric Hall, Marcus Lundy, David Russell, Ellen H. Spencer.

Birmingham to choose from 13 candidates Tuesday

For the third time this year, Birmingham voters will visit the polls. Tuesday’s special election focuses on mayor, an office suddenly open after Larry Langford’s federal conviction in October.

We have found that 6 weeks is barely enough time to have an election, much less evaluate more than a dozen candidates.

Even though the winner will hold office for less than 2 years before the next election, much is riding on the outcome.

For starters, the city is in jeopardy. Bernard Kincaid seemed glacial in doing anything to move Birmingham forward. That stasis seems preferable to the rapid plunge into financial chaos and political embarrassment wreaked in just 2 short years by Larry Langford.

His reign of error ended only with the say of 12 jurors. But City Hall is in shambles, as is the public trust.

We’re building a dome, renovating Fair Park Arena and beginning to successfully fight crime. And yet, the budget has been criminally neglected (and perhaps, deliberately fudged). Carole Smitherman spent less than a month as interim mayor before the newly seated council tapped Roderick Royal as council president, thus taking over the interim mayoral duties.

In short, much confusion, little time and wary voters.

‘The candidates have failed
to distinguish themselves.’

The candidates have failed to distinguish themselves. The much heralded Patrick Cooper has raised (and spent) a lot of cash, but by doing so seems to be influenced by out-of-town interests. He missed high-profile forums, which has the odor of the artful dodge. While he made a splash in 2007 by receiving almost 30 percent of the vote, Cooper has done little since then to demonstrate his capacity for leadership.

With Smitherman and William Bell, we have two seasoned politicians who have served as interim mayor, albeit briefly, and lost in a combined five campaigns for the top office. Smitherman, a self-described mother figure, voted with Langford on many budget busters and wants to continue his projects, even as the city goes broke.

Bell, who picked up Langford’s unsolicited endorsement, also seems enmeshed in old school ways, both in campaigning and in office. He needs to continue and finish his work on the Jefferson County Commission: fixing its $3 billion sewer debt calamity.

Steven Hoyt is serving in his second term on council and recently was voted president pro tempore under questionable circumstances (the new acting mayor Royal voted, even though he was not allowed). When given the chance to fix things, he declined. Imagine what he’d do with real power.

Scott Douglas, one of the outsiders, has a good record of service to the city. And while his green platform might work in a more progressive and more solvent city, he seems to have no solution on getting the city’s finances back on track.

Emory Anthony ran twice against longtime mayor Richard Arrington in the early 1990s and lost. The defense attorney wants to bring the city’s finances in order, with transparency and accountability. The question is: Can he back it up?

We aren’t certain. We’re picking a mayor at gunpoint Tuesday, and chances are, we’ll still end up taking a bullet or two.

• • •

Voting takes place from 7 a.m. till 7 p.m. A runoff, if needed, will take place Jan. 19.

Q: Where do I vote?

A: The answer is a call away. Jefferson County: 325-5550.

Or try AlabamaVotes.gov and click on “Search for My Polling Place.”

Join us Tuesday for election results
on Wade on Birmingham.

Remember, if you have problems at your polling place:

• Notify a poll worker immediately.
• Obtain a complaint/evaluation form (or download jpgs of pages 1 and 2). Print it, fill it out, copy and mail it.
• Call the state attorney general at 1-800-831-8814 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Wednesday or fill out this online form.
• Call the secretary of state at 1-800-274-VOTE (8683) or visit her site, StopVoterFraudNow.com.
• And tell the probate court for Jefferson County (325-5203).
• Leave a comment below.

Q. Who’s running for mayor?

A. The 13 candidates …

Emory Anthony	William Bell	T.C. Cannon	Patrick Cooper
Scott Douglas	Steven Hoyt	Stephannie Huey	Edith Mayomi
Carole Smitherman	Jimmy Snow	Jason Sumners	Jody Trautwein
Harry “Traveling Shoes” Turner

Note: Ernie Dunn died on Thursday.

Also:

• Birmingham News editorial board endorsement: “(Emory) Anthony brings a regional approach to governing that has been in far too short supply.”
• Kyle Whitmire of the Birmingham Weekly on the financial crisis: “Few candidates in the special-called mayoral election have demonstrated an understanding of what faces the city.”
• One blogger’s take? None of the above.
• Patrick Cooper leads fund-raising, but also campaign debt.
• Pavo Magazine podcast discusses the candidates.
  [audio:http://www.pavomag.com/sites/default/files/audio/Mayoral%20Race%2012_2_09%20Edit%201.mp3]

Are you voting? Who has your vote? Vote in the poll above, and leave a comment below.

• • •

More Vote 2009 coverage.

Stephannie Sigler Huey, a math teacher in the Birmingham school system, is running for mayor of Birmingham.

Video: NBC 13 interview

WBHM (90.3 FM) interview:
[audio:http://www.wbhm.org/songs/stephaniehuey.mp3]

More video interviews with all the candidates will be added daily. Election Day is Tuesday.

• • •

More Vote 2009 coverage.

The Birmingham Business Alliance put on a mayoral forum Monday at the Alabama School of Fine Arts. Nine candidates answered questions submitted ahead of time and from the moderators on economic development.

About 150 people attended the nighttime event at the Alabama School of Fine Arts.

The participants:

• William Bell;
• T.C. Cannon;
• Steven Hoyt;
• Stephannie Sigler Huey;
• Edith Mayomi;
• Carole Smitherman;
• Jason Sumners;
• Jody Trautwein;
• Harry “Traveling Shoes” Turner.

Included below are audio clips of the candidates’ responses.

1. Candidate introductions (up to 60 seconds each)
Order: Cannon, Bell, Hoyt, Huey, Mayomi, Smitherman, Sumners, Trautwein, Turner.
[10 min.]

[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/MayoralForum11-30-09Part1/MayoralForum11-30-09Part1.mp3]

2. How to encourage entrepreneurship and small business development (up to 90 seconds each)
Order: Bell, Hoyt, Huey, Mayomi, Smitherman, Sumners, Trautwein, Turner, Cannon.
[12 min.]

[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/MayoralForum11-30-09Part2/MayoralForum11-30-09Part2.mp3]

3. How to attract and retain young professionals
Order: Hoyt, Huey, Mayomi, Smitherman, Sumners, Trautwein, Turner, Cannon, Bell.
[13 min.]

[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/BirminghamMayoralForum11-30-09Part3-9/MayoralForum11-30-09Part3.mp3]

4. Candidates’ financial experience
Order: Huey, Mayomi, Smitherman, Sumners, Trautwein, Turner, Cannon, Bell, Hoyt.
[12 min.]

[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/BirminghamMayoralForum11-30-09Part3-9/MayoralForum11-30-09Part4.mp3]

5. Move forward with domed stadium?
Order: Mayomi, Smitherman, Sumners, Trautwein, Turner, Cannon, Bell, Hoyt, Huey.
[13 min.]

[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/BirminghamMayoralForum11-30-09Part3-9/MayoralForum11-30-09Part5.mp3]

6. Airport expansion
Order: Smitherman, Sumners, Trautwein, Turner, Cannon, Bell, Hoyt, Huey, Mayomi.
[12 min.]

[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/BirminghamMayoralForum11-30-09Part3-9/MayoralForum11-30-09Part6.mp3]

7. Legion Field (up to 30 seconds each)
Order: Sumners, Trautwein, Turner, Cannon, Bell, Hoyt, Huey, Mayomi, Smitherman.
[3 min.]

[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/BirminghamMayoralForum11-30-09Part3-9/MayoralForum11-30-09Part7.mp3]

8. City takeover of Birmingham school system?
Order: Trautwein, Turner, Cannon, Bell, Hoyt, Huey, Mayomi, Smitherman, Sumners.
[5 min.]

[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/BirminghamMayoralForum11-30-09Part3-9/MayoralForum11-30-09Part8.mp3]

9. Support Gov. Riley’s plan for turning U.S. 280 into toll road?
Order: Turner, Cannon, Bell, Hoyt, Huey.
(Due to technical error, audio ends without 30-second responses made by Mayomi, Smitherman, Sumners and Trautwein.)
[2 min.]

[audio:http://www.archive.org/download/BirminghamMayoralForum11-30-09Part3-9/MayoralForum11-30-09Part9.mp3]

Also: Birmingham News summary of the forum.

Video: NBC 13 report on the forum

The election takes place Dec. 8.

• • •

More Vote 2009 coverage.

Two more candidates are in the race for mayor of Birmingham bringing the total to 14.

• T.C. Cannon — retired bar owner and former president of the Southside neighborhood association. He placed eighth in the 2003 mayoral election.
• William Jason Sumners — no information available.

Also, Natalie Davis, political science professor at Birmingham-Southern College, and André Natta, publisher of the Terminal, discuss the candidates and themes so far in this election.

Here’s the final list of candidates:

• Emory Anthony
• William Bell
• T.C. Cannon (see above)
• Patrick Cooper
• Scott Douglas
• Ernie Dunn
• Steven Hoyt
• Stephannie Sigler Huey
• Edith Mayomi
• Carole Smitherman
• Jimmy Snow
• William Jason Sumners (see above)
• Jody Trautwein
• Harry “Traveling Shoes” Turner

The election takes place Dec. 8.

• • •

More Vote 2009 coverage.

Carole Smitherman, who has been serving as interim mayor for the past 2 weeks, wants a shot at the real thing.

Smitherman announced today her intent to enter the race, after having run unsuccessfully in 2003 and 2007. She said her official announcement is coming, but only after she takes care of more city business.

And she has been busy. As city council president, she automatically became mayor with former mayor Larry Langford’s conviction in October. She fired chief of staff Deborah Vance-Bowie and accepted the resignation of finance director Steve Sayler, all related to the city budget which may be missing $20 million.

Vance-Bowie countered Smitherman’s claim that Vance-Bowie was partially responsible for the city’s budget problems, sharing a series of e-mails between her and Sayler to illustrate Sayler’s lack of cooperation.

Smitherman, an attorney, has served on the council since 2001. Before that, she served as a circuit court judge, municipal court judge and prosecutor for the City of Irondale.

Her candidacy makes for a field of six, including Emory Anthony, Patrick Cooper, Stephannie Huey, Edith Mayomi and Jimmy Snow.

Her campaign site, SmithermanforBirmingham.com, from her 2009 council bid is still online.

The election takes place Dec. 8.

• • •

More Vote 2009 coverage.

Also running for Birmingham mayor, besides Emory Anthony and Patrick Cooper, are …

• Stephannie Sigler Huey, who ran for mayor in Denver, and also finished in 14th place running for mayor of Birmingham in 2003. Huey is a teacher in the Birmingham school system and a pastor with the God’s Holy Tabernacle Church. She wants to reduce crime and make schools safer.
• Edith Mayomi, an employee at Jefferson State Community College.
• Jimmy Snow, an Avondale resident who wants to reform City Hall. He told the Birmingham News: ”I really do not care to be mayor, but I am willing to do what needs to be done.”

The election takes place Dec. 8.

• • •

More Vote 2009 coverage.