Who’s up for Mayor of Birmingham? Here are two candidates and what you should know about them

These two men have announced their candidacy to local media outlets for the upcoming 2017 Birmingham mayoral election. We hear there are others in the queue too.  Who are they? Are there more?

One of them is Mayor William Bell, the incumbent. Mayor Bell unofficially announced his candidacy last August.

And, ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) Randall Woodfin, the former Birmingham School Board President, is the other. He also announced his candidacy last August to friends, family and the media about a week after Bell’s announcement.

August 22, 2016 was the first day candidates could start raising money, so it makes sense that both of them got their balls rolling early.

More candidates are quietly making their announcements before the official election has been declared, so Be On The Lookout (BOLO) for upcoming posts on candidates like E. Philemon Hill, Randy Davis, Brother Simms, Frank Matthews and possibly Birmingham City Council President Johnathan Austin.

Will there be more (like, a woman, perhaps)? The filing fee is $300, and you have to be 25 years old, a resident of Birmingham and a registered voter. Here are the guidelines. Get on it.

There’s still time to file, but in the meantime, here’s a quick introduction to these two. Stay tuned for our upcoming interviews with all of them!

• Woodfin has set up an website with information about why he’s running. You can check it out by visiting this link.
• Mayor Bell is seeking  his second four-year term, and he officially announced his intent to run in February, according to AL.com.  Bell won his first term in 2009, after a special election was held to replace Mayor Larry Langford, after he was convicted in a federal court on several counts of bribery.

• AL.com reports that Mayor Bell is focusing on his successes, like:
  ” … the revitalization of downtown Birmingham, including Regions Field, which returned the Birmingham Barons to the city from the suburbs, the completion and development of the Birmingham Crossplex, Birmingham Intermodal Transit Facility, Operation Green Wave to clean up the city, and the creation of the Land Bank Authority …”
• Woodfin told WBHM that he’s all about change, revitalization and transparency. “City Hall needs a reset button,” Woodfin said. “We need someone who’ll both support our small businesses and put our younger generation first.”

What would you like to know about your mayoral candidates, Birmingham? Leave them in the comments on our Facebook page, and I’ll be sure to ask them what you’d like to know.