List of mayors of Birmingham, Alabama facts for kids

The mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, is the main leader of the city. This important job started when Birmingham became a city in 1871. The very first mayor was Robert Henley. He was chosen by the Governor Robert B. Lindsay to serve for two years.

For many years, the mayor worked with a group called the Board of Aldermen. But over time, people wanted a different way to run the city. So, in 1910, a new system was created with a Board of Commissioners. This board had five members, later changed to three. The person leading this board was often called "Mayor," even if that wasn't their official title.

As Birmingham grew bigger, it became the main city, or "county seat," for Jefferson County. Before Birmingham, the county seat was in places like Carrollsville and Elyton. For a long time, Birmingham felt like it didn't have enough say in state and national government. This was because its population grew a lot, but the number of its representatives didn't. Officials from rural areas didn't pay attention to the city's new needs. They didn't change the voting districts to properly include all the new people moving in. When Birmingham became the county seat, its local leaders gained more power in the state.

In 1963, there was another big change. People voted to change the government again. This was partly to remove a leader named Bull Connor. The city government was reorganized under a law called the Mayor-Council Act of 1955. This meant the city would have a mayor and nine City Council members. These council members were chosen from the city as a whole. Later, in 1979, Richard Arrington Jr. became Birmingham's first African-American mayor. This happened because the city's population was changing.

In 1989, another change was made. City Council members started to be elected from specific areas, or "districts," within the city. They serve four-year terms. Their terms are set so that they can run for mayor without having to quit their council job first.

Mayors of Birmingham

The mayor is the chief executive of the city. This means they are in charge of making sure the city runs smoothly. Here are some of the people who have served as mayor or led the city government in Birmingham.

Image	Representative	Years	Electoral history
Mayors of Birmingham
	Robert Henley	December 19, 1871 – July 1872	Appointed by Robert B. Lindsay
	W. J. McDonald	July 1872	Acting Mayor while Henley was absent
	Thomas Tate	July 1872	Interim Mayor
	Robert Henley	July 1872 – April 22, 1873	Died
	James Robert Powell	1873–1875	Became mayor after Robert Henley passed away.
	William Harrington Morris	1875–1878
	Henry M. Caldwell	1878
	Thomas Jeffers	1878–1882
	A. O. Lane	1882–1888
	B. A. Thompson	1888–1890
	A. O. Lane	1890–1892
	David J. Fox	1892–1894
	James A. Van Hoose	1894–1896
	Frank V. Evans	1896–1899
	Mel Drennen	1899–1905
	George B. Ward	1905–1908
	Frank P. O'Brien	1908–1910
	Culpepper Exum	1910–1913
Presidents of the Birmingham City Commission
	George B. Ward	November 1913 – 1917	Was also Mayor of Birmingham from 1905–1908.
	Nathaniel Barrett	1917–1921
	David E. McClendon	1921–1925
	James M. Jones Jr.	1925–1940
	Cooper Green	1940–1953
	James W. Morgan	1953–1961
	Art Hanes	1961–1963
Mayors of Birmingham
	Albert Boutwell	1963–1967
	George G. Siebels Jr.	1967–1975
	David Vann	1975 – November 12, 1979
	Richard Arrington Jr.	November 13, 1979 – 1999	First African-American mayor of Birmingham.
	William A. Bell	1999	Served as an interim (temporary) mayor.
	Bernard Kincaid	1999 – November 12, 2007
	Larry Langford	November 13, 2007 – October 28, 2009
	Carole Smitherman	October 29, 2009 – November 2009	Acting Mayor. She was the first African-American female mayor.
	Roderick Royal	November 2009 – January 25, 2010	Acting Mayor.
	William A. Bell	January 26, 2010 – November 27, 2017
	Randall Woodfin	November 28, 2017 – present

Mayor-Council Act of 1955

The Mayor-Council Act was a law passed by the Alabama State Legislature. It changed how the city government of Birmingham worked. The goal was to give the people of Birmingham better representation in their government, reflecting how the population had changed over the years.

This act also tried to balance the power between the law-making (legislative) and law-enforcing (executive) parts of the city government. Before, the President of the Commission could vote on new ideas. The new act took away that voting power and instead gave the Mayor the ability to veto (reject) proposed actions.

The citizens of Birmingham voted on this act on November 6, 1962, and it was approved. The first mayor elected under this new system was Albert Boutwell on March 5, 1963. He won against Bull Connor, who was the Commissioner of Public Safety at the time.

See also

• Timeline of Birmingham, Alabama