Randall Woodfin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Randall Woodfin
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| 34th Mayor of Birmingham | |
| Assumed office November 28, 2017 |
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| Preceded by | William A. Bell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 29, 1981 Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Morehouse College (BA) Samford University (JD) |
Randall Woodfin, born on May 29, 1981, is an American lawyer and politician. He is currently the 34th mayor of Birmingham, Alabama. He won the election on October 3, 2017, becoming mayor after a runoff vote. Before becoming mayor, he was the president of the Birmingham City School Board from 2013 to 2015. He also worked as a city attorney for Birmingham from 2009 to 2017.
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Growing Up and Schooling
Randall Woodfin grew up in the North Birmingham and Crestwood areas of Birmingham. He went to North Birmingham Elementary School and Putnam Middle School. He then attended Shades Valley High School.
He later went to Morehouse College. There, he studied political science and was the president of the student government. After Morehouse, Woodfin earned a law degree (called a J.D.) from the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University.
Randall Woodfin's Career Journey
Starting His Career Path
Before going to law school, Woodfin gained experience working in different parts of Birmingham's city government. He worked for the Birmingham City Council and the Mayor's Office. He also worked with the Jefferson County Committee on Economic Opportunity.
In 2009, he became an assistant city attorney for Birmingham. He held this job until he was elected mayor in 2017.
Serving on the School Board
In 2013, Woodfin successfully ran for a seat on the school board. Just two months after being elected, he was chosen as the president of the board. He served as president until 2015 and remained on the board until 2017.
Woodfin has also been involved with many community groups. He was a speaker at TEDx Birmingham in 2017. He also led the Alabama state team for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.
Becoming Mayor of Birmingham
Woodfin announced he would run for mayor of Birmingham in August 2016. He was one of many candidates challenging the mayor at the time, William Bell. In the first election on August 22, 2017, Woodfin received 40% of the votes. This meant he and Bell, who came in second, had to have a runoff election.
Woodfin won the runoff election on October 3 with almost 59% of the votes. This made him the youngest mayor of Birmingham in over 120 years. During his campaign, Woodfin promised to make Birmingham's neighborhoods better. He said he would focus on improving the quality of life for people living in the city.
Mayor Woodfin's Time in Office
As mayor, Randall Woodfin has worked on several important issues for Birmingham.
Improving City Finances
When he took office, Woodfin looked into the city's money situation. His team found that the city's pension fund, which helps city employees with their retirement, had not been fully funded for many years. This could affect the city's financial health.
To fix this, Mayor Woodfin increased the money going into the pension fund. He added $2.9 million in the 2019 budget and $5.2 million in the 2020 budget. His team said this fully met the city's commitment to the fund for the first time in over a decade.
Making Neighborhoods Better
A big part of Woodfin's plan was to improve Birmingham's 99 neighborhoods. In his first two years, he set aside money for several projects:
- $13 million for fixing streets.
- $2.5 million for clearing overgrown empty lots.
- $6.5 million for tearing down old, falling-apart buildings.
Woodfin believes that making these improvements is very important for the city.
Addressing Community Safety
Making the city safer was a key promise during Woodfin's campaign. Shortly after he became mayor, the police chief resigned. After a careful search, Woodfin chose Patrick D. Smith, a former commander from the Los Angeles Police Department, to be the new chief.
In 2019, Woodfin's team launched a campaign called "PEACE." This campaign included short videos where mothers who had lost children to gun violence shared their stories. The goal was to raise awareness and promote peace in the community.
Tackling Food Deserts
One of Woodfin's early promises was to help areas in the city known as food deserts. These are places where it's hard for people to find fresh, healthy, and affordable food.
Confederate Monuments in Birmingham
For many years, people in Birmingham wanted a Confederate monument in Linn Park to be removed. After protests in June 2020, Mayor Woodfin ordered the monument to be taken down. He also declared a state of emergency to help keep the peace in the city.
National Political Involvement
Randall Woodfin has also been involved in national politics. In the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, he supported Joe Biden.
He was also chosen as one of seventeen speakers to give the main speech at the 2020 Democratic National Convention. This was a big honor and showed his growing role in national politics.
His Political Ideas
Woodfin has shared some of his political beliefs. In an interview, he said that being a "moderate" doesn't mean staying the same. He supports many ideas that are considered progressive, but he also believes in winning elections to make changes happen.
When he first ran for mayor, Woodfin promised to make Birmingham a "sanctuary city" for immigrants. Later, he changed this to aiming for Birmingham to be a "welcoming city."
Woodfin believes in climate change. In 2018, he signed a pledge called "Alabama Mayors for 100% Sustainable Energy." This was part of his promise to support clean energy and a healthier environment for Birmingham.
About Randall Woodfin's Life
Randall Woodfin grew up with three siblings. He is married and is a Christian. He attends Sixth Avenue Baptist Church in Birmingham. He enjoys music from artists like Mannie Fresh and Dr. Dre.
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Randall Woodfin
