Randall Woodfin ’03 beat out seven-year incumbent William Bell to become the youngest mayor of Birmingham, Ala since 1893.
“Our city, our 23 communities, our 99 neighborhoods, you have all spoken very clearly – we deserve better,” Woodfin said during his victory speech.
Woodfin, a Birmingham native, studied political science at Morehouse and was the Student Government Association president during his senior year.
“It’s hard for me to know where to begin to talk about what Morehouse did for me,” he said on his campaign website. “It’s a place where campus politics and student government has the kind of importance that football has at the University of Alabama.
“In fact, we used to say that student government at Morehouse was a varsity sport — and I got the chance to play “quarterback” my senior year, when I was elected as the SGA president,” Woodfin said. “That gave me an amazing opportunity, not only to lead the student body, but also to interact with the administration and members of the board of trustees. I learned a lot about who I was. And I learned how to be a leader.”
An attorney, Woodfin has worked for various arms of the Birmingham city government, eventually becoming assistant city attorney. He was elected to the Birmingham Board of Education, serving from 2013 to 2015.
His mayoral platform centered on creating a Birmingham that was inclusive, safe and has a new sense of trust in City Hall.
Woodfin also was aided by a robo-call from 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, who tweeted his congratulations.
“Congratulations to Mayor-Elect @WoodfinForBham for running a great grassroots and winning campaign,” Sanders said. “I look forward to working with him.”
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