James A. Sullivan

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James A. Sullivan

Nonpartisan

Birmingham City Schools District 5

Tenure

2021 - Present

Term ends

2025

Years in position

3

Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last elected

August 26, 2025

Education

Bachelor's

Stillman College, 2005

Graduate

Faulkner University, 2007

Personal

Birthplace

Selma, Ala.

Contact

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James A. Sullivan is a member of the Birmingham City Schools in Alabama, representing District 5. He assumed office on October 26, 2021.

Sullivan won re-election to the Birmingham City Schools to represent District 5 in Alabama outright after the general election on August 26, 2025, was canceled.

Biography

James Sullivan was born in Selma, Alabama. He earned a bachelor's degree in business management from Stillman College in 2005. He earned a master's degree in management from Faulkner University in 2007. Sullivan's career experience includes working as a Certified Financial Education Instructor. He has served as a president with the Central City Neighborhood Association and with the Birmingham Public Library Board of Trustees. He has served as a co-chairperson with Public Athletic, Cultural and Entertainment (PACE), and as a board member with Birmingham ARTWALK. Sullivan has been affiliated with Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., and with the National Financial Education Council.

Elections

2025

See also: Birmingham City Schools, Alabama, elections (2025)

General election

The general election was canceled. James A. Sullivan (Nonpartisan) won without appearing on the ballot.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Sullivan in this election.

2021

See also: Birmingham City Schools, Alabama, elections (2021)

General election

General election for Birmingham City Schools District 5

James A. Sullivan defeated David McKinney in the general election for Birmingham City Schools District 5 on August 24, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		James A. Sullivan (Nonpartisan)	53.5	1,887
		David McKinney (Nonpartisan)	46.5	1,637

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,524
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

James A. Sullivan did not complete Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.

2021

James A. Sullivan completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Sullivan's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

James holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Stillman College, Tuscaloosa, AL., Master of Science in Management from Faulkner University, Montgomery, AL., and is a Certified Financial Education Instructor. He currently serves as President of the Central City Neighborhood Association (downtown Birmingham), a board member at his Home Owners Association, and immediate past president of the Board of Trustees with the Birmingham Public Library. James is co-chair of the Public Athletic, Cultural and Entertainment (PACE) and board member with the Birmingham ARTWALK.

James affiliation includes the Birmingham downtown Business Improvement District (BID) exploration team, Birmingham Change Fund, Associated Investors of Alabama Inc., and a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. In his spare time, James enjoys the Arts, networking, business mentoring, investing, spending time with his wife Kayla, son Sire, and family.

James also works with a non-profit that sparks conversation and ACTION amongst Millennials. They empower thousands of families by identifying social and entrepreneurial initiatives through financial education, investing, technology, and ideation in the local community and abroad.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Building more partner + relationships
• Holding leadership accountable through the 6 C framework
• Increasing our investment in technology & COVID-19 lost learning

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I would like to focus on policies that address our at-risk students (students who require temporary or ongoing intervention in order to succeed academically) usually have problems at home, are single-parent households, and lack proper role models that stress the importance of discovering one’s purpose. I also believe the earlier you identify and correct problems the higher the success rate that you get an individual on the correct path. I would support programs and partnerships that build and teach conflict resolution and violence prevention curriculums, bullying prevention programs, afterschool recreation programs, mentoring programs, and comprehensive community interventions.

A focus on building more strategic partners + relationships through programs that focus on mentoring, parental outreach, conflict resolution, and violence prevention, youth entrepreneurship, investing, social media training, and financial education.

What is the primary job of a school board member in your view?

To hire and hold the local superintendent accountable, oversee the overall education of students, and provide governance for the school local school system.

Who are your constituents?

People who have the ability to appoint another person to be their representative.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2025 Elections

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