Polls are open: It’s time to pick a mayor in Birmingham.

Ten candidates are vying for the title, including the incumbent, Bernard Kincaid. Surprisingly, 10 is a far smaller field than past years: 1999 had 14 candidates, and 2003 had 18(!) memorable names, like That Guy, and That Other Guy.

The Birmingham News’ poll indicates that Larry Langford (right) and Patrick Cooper (left) are headed for the runoff, while the other eight candidates, including two-termer Kincaid, have no chance.

With 18 percent undecided and a 4.9 percentage point margin of error, should we trust the results?
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As Election Day draws ever closer, the money men are hard at work behind the scenes. Case in point: Two-term mayor Bernard Kincaid, left, is fighting off eight other candidates. At least his campaign war chest is full, thanks mostly to one man, attorney Donald Watkins and his $95,000 contribution. Oh, PAC transfers, is there anything you can’t do?

The self-proclaimed scandal-free candidate returned the love with $40 million in city deposits in Watkins’ Birmingham-based bank, Alamerica. That’s a lot of free toasters. See, everybody wins!

Other big money candidates include Carole Smitherman ($94,750 from 30 PACs) and Larry Langford ($79,000 from 14 PACs). And it’s all legal. Scandalous, but legal.
• Birmingham News: Kincaid’s campaign has one big contributor | City is Alamerica’s top patron

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Then and now

The bucks start here: Presidential candidates Barack Obama and Fred Thompson (well, almost candidate in his case) stopped in town last month to meet the voters and raise the dollars. Both took part in private big ticket fund-raisers, and both are seeing their popularity rise in Alabama. Thompson, a Sheffield native, is the current front-runner among Republican candidates, while Obama jumped 8 percentage points to close the gap with fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton, according to a recent poll.

Who should receive your vote on Feb. 5? Sir Charles Barkley weighs in … after the jump.

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Six candidates would like your attention, please, as the first Birmingham mayoral candidate forum kicks off tonight. The Parkway East District Business Association will hold the event featuring questions from the media and the chamber of commerce, as well as written questions from the audience.

The participants:

• Valerie Abbott, city council;
• William Bell, city council;
• Patrick Cooper, attorney;
• Bernard Kincaid, incumbent;
• Larry Langford, county commission;
• Carole Smitherman, city council.

(We guess that means Kincaid is, in fact, running for a third term.)

The fun begins at 7 at Parkway Christian Fellowship, 9753 Parkway East. And only 75 days until Election Day.

Pick up the phone, quick! It could be Larry Langford calling. The Jefferson County Commissioner and former mayor of Fairfield will robo-dial 100,000 Birmingham voters today to let them know he’s running for mayor. Yes, with a mere four months to Election Day, it’s now a three-way race between Patrick Cooper, Valerie Abbott and Langford. At least the debates will be louder, if not, well, louder.

The folks over at Mixed Media — unimpressed with his slogan, “Let’s do something” — have asked for new suggestions, with a beer and a sandwich to the winning entry. Our contribution: “Welcome to Electric Larryland — enjoy the ride.”

• Birmingham News: Langford launches run for mayor

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Valerie Abbott, city council member since 2001, will run for mayor of Birmingham. She joins only one other declared candidate, attorney Patrick Cooper, in this year’s campaign.

Abbott began exploring a possible candidacy earlier this year, sending out letters to gauge financial backing. Earlier this evening, she said that while fund-raising continues, she has decided to run and will formally announce in mid- to late May.

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Washington on the line: Maybe you’ve tried a three-way. On the phone, you naughty minx. But have you tried a 5,000-way call? Rep. Jo Bonner did, putting a somewhat-new twist on the town hall meeting. From his Washington office, Bonner talked with Mobile citizens for an hour and answered questions when they “lined up” by pressing a button. The cost: $2,200, about 9 cents a caller. The representative is no stranger to using technology to interact with citizens: His Web page features links to archived radio and TV shows (shown here). Now if he’ll just put up a transcript and MP3 of his town hall session …
• Bonner speed-dials a town hall meeting [Birmingham News]

Cutting edge: A gamma knife can cut out tumors in the head using radiation beams, but a CyberKnife can remove tumors anywhere in the body. Birmingham surgeon Swaid Swaid wants one and has formed a company to partner with area hospitals. “For once, I want a good technology to come to Birmingham that’s not fought over by everyone,” said Swaid, who wants equal access to the device for all surgeons. The next steps: getting state approval, landing partners and making sure the treatment is covered by insurance.
• Device kills tumors, spares nearby tissue [Birmingham News]

Paperbacks or prisons: Jefferson County commission president Larry Langford wants to fight crime by promoting education, specifically reading. Working with the Literacy Council, the county would create a literacy center, complete with donated computers and volunteer retired teachers and businesspeople. Sounds solid, unless we unintentionally create a group of supercriminals who can read.
• Langford urges literacy effort to curtail crime [Birmingham News]

Also:

• Trussville barbecue restaurant claims secret to success is sauce, meat
• Comedy club patron can’t believe comedian went there, said that
• Robbers conspire with store manager to end up in jail, on TV

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