oh, stop
Sunday, January 31st, 2010“Did you hear about
Fred?” “Fred rules!” “What’s this I hear
about Fred?” “Get him!”
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Read more haiku.
Archive for January, 2010
a rush ahead to the blood
Sunday, January 31st, 2010the road to success
Sunday, January 31st, 2010a reporter’s secret
Sunday, January 31st, 2010no punching at the dinner table
Sunday, January 31st, 2010a dare-to-be-great situation
Sunday, January 31st, 2010the 39th parallel
Sunday, January 31st, 2010stains of history
Sunday, January 31st, 2010rebooting birmingham again
Sunday, January 31st, 2010BREAKING – Vote 2009: William Bell wins mayor’s race over Patrick Cooper
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
William Bell will be the next mayor of Birmingham.
Jefferson County commissioner William Bell defeated attorney Patrick Cooper in today’s Birmingham mayoral runoff election. Bell marks the third time in a row in which the underdog mayoral candidate in Birmingham’s general election upset the leader in the runoff.
Bell received 25,354 votes, or 53.6 percent, while Cooper picked up 21,979 votes, for 46.4 percent. Voter turnout was 41 percent, much higher than in December’s general election.
Bell will succeed acting mayor and city council president Roderick Royal, who succeeded Carole Smitherman in the same capacity, who took over after former mayor Larry Langford was convicted in October in federal court.
Currently serving on the county commission, Bell previously served on the city council as its first black president and as interim mayor. He ran for mayor in 1999, 2003 and 2007. During this campaign, Bell touted selling the Birmingham Water Works for $200 million that went to school improvements, known as the Bell Plan.
Bell will serve the remaining 2 years on Langford’s term, until the next regular election in 2011.
Video: Bell’s victory speech
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More Vote 2009 coverage.
Vote 2009: One last vote to cast
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010It comes down to today, the runoff election to select Birmingham’s mayor for the next 2 years. After …
- 83 days since then mayor Larry Langford’s conviction, removing him from office,
- 14 candidates,
- 45 posts on Wade on Birmingham,
- 2 acting mayors,
- 1 candidate arrested,
- and another found dead,
we are down to two finalists, Jefferson County commissioner William Bell and attorney Patrick Cooper.
Voting takes place until 7 tonight.
Where to vote: Call Jefferson County at (205) 325-5550. Or try AlabamaVotes.gov and click on “Search Your Polling Place.”
Join us tonight 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 (205-325-5203).
- Leave a comment below.
Additional stories:
- William Bell
- Patrick Cooper
- Dec. 5 | Up close with Patrick Cooper
- Dec. 9 | Patrick Cooper on the runoff
- Both candidates
- Jan. 12 | The strutinizing of Bell and Cooper
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More Vote 2009 coverage.
a matter of service
Monday, January 18th, 2010Vote 2009: Mayoral candidates take callers’ questions
Monday, January 18th, 2010Birmingham mayoral candidates William Bell and Patrick Cooper have answers. At least, they did when each one took callers’ questions separately for an hour Friday on WBHM (90.3 FM) Friday.
You can hear their responses below, in case you still haven’t decided …
William Bell:
- [audio:http://www.wbhm.org/songs/OTLbell.mp3]
Patrick Cooper:
- [audio:http://www.wbhm.org/songs/OTLcooper.mp3]
Also:
- The Birmingham News reluctantly endorses Cooper.
- Birmingham News columnist John Archibald reviews the low points of the campaign.
- Birmingham News editorial writer Joey Kennedy reviews the short tenure of acting mayor Roderick Royal, including a “Plan of Action” for the next mayor.
- Black and White: “The two candidates in this runoff election could not represent a more distinct choice.”
- Birmingham Weekly columnist Kyle Whitmire: “Birmingham needs a hero. For the time being, we’ll have to settle for something less.”
- Candidates’ latest campaign finance reports: Bell has $15,484 balance, while Cooper has $30,823 debt.
And last but not least, a shout out from Vacant Manifesto during a WBHM “Tapestry” interview (at the 1:45 mark) …
- [audio:http://www.wbhm.org/songs/vacantmanifesto.mp3]
The runoff election takes place Tuesday. Look for results Tuesday evening on Wade on Birmingham.
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More Vote 2009 coverage.
