William A. Bell Sr. (Alabama)
William A. Bell was the Mayor of Birmingham in Alabama. He assumed office on January 26, 2010. He left office on November 27, 2017.
Bell ran for election for Mayor of Birmingham in Alabama. He lost in the general election on August 24, 2021.
He was first elected in 2009 in a special election to replace former Mayor Larry Langford who was convicted of corruption and sentenced to a fifteen year prison sentence that same year. Bell was re-elected to a second term in 2011, which was shortened to a two-year term in order for it to align with a revised city election schedule. Bell won election to his first four-year term on August 27, 2013.[1][2] Bell lost a re-election campaign in the runoff election on October 3, 2017.
Before becoming mayor, Bell held a number of elected and appointed municipal and county positions. From 1978 to 1989, he was an at-large member of the Birmingham City Council. From 1989 to 2001 and 2005 to 2008, he represented District 5 on the Birmingham City Council. From 1997 to 2001, he served as council president. Bell was also the interim mayor of Birmingham in 1999 and a member of the Jefferson County Commission from 2008 to 2010.[3][2][4]
While the positions of mayor and city council in Birmingham are officially nonpartisan, Bell is considered a Democrat and ran as a Democratic candidate for Jefferson County Commission in 2008.[5]
Biography
Bell was born in Birmingham, Alabama. He is a graduate of John Carroll High School. He obtained a B.A. and an M.A. from the University of Alabama and a J.D. from Miles College. Bell is married to Dr. Sharon Carson Bell. They have two children.[2][4]
Career
Below is a brief outline of Bell's political career:
- 2009-2017: Mayor of Birmingham
- 2008-2010: Jefferson County Commission
- 2007: Candidate for Mayor of Birmingham
- 2005-2008: Birmingham City Council, District 5
- 2003: Candidate for Mayor of Birmingham
- 1999: Candidate for Mayor of Birmingham
- Interim Mayor of Birmingham
- 1997-2001: Birmingham City Council, President
- 1989-2007: Birmingham City Council, District 5
- 1978-1989: Birmingham City Council, At-large
Elections
2021
See also: Mayoral election in Birmingham, Alabama (2021)
General election
General election for Mayor of Birmingham
The following candidates ran in the general election for Mayor of Birmingham on August 24, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Randall Woodfin (Nonpartisan) | 64.3 | 23,624 |
 | Lashunda Scales (Nonpartisan) | 20.8 | 7,627 | |
 | William A. Bell (Nonpartisan) | 9.1 | 3,356 | |
 | Chris Woods (Nonpartisan) | 4.3 | 1,563 | |
 | Cerissa Brown (Nonpartisan)  | 0.6 | 237 | |
 | Philemon Hill (Nonpartisan) | 0.4 | 149 | |
| Darryl Williams (Nonpartisan) | 0.3 | 120 | ||
| Napoleon Gonzalez (Nonpartisan) | 0.1 | 47 | ||
| Total votes: 36,723 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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2017
The city of Birmingham, Alabama, held elections for mayor and city council on August 22, 2017. A runoff was held on October 3, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was July 7, 2017.
Randall L. Woodfin defeated incumbent William A. Bell Sr. in the Mayor of Birmingham runoff election.[6]
| Mayor of Birmingham, Runoff Election, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Randall L. Woodfin |
58.95% | 24,922 |
| William A. Bell Incumbent | 41.05% | 17,357 |
| Total Votes | 42,279 | |
| Source: City of Birmingham, "General Municipal Runoff Results," October 10, 2017 | ||
The following candidates ran in the Mayor of Birmingham general election.[7]
| Mayor of Birmingham, General Election, 2017 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Randall L. Woodfin |
40.84% | 15,668 |
| William A. Bell Incumbent |
36.56% | 14,025 |
| Chris Woods | 18.14% | 6,961 |
| Frank Matthews | 1.39% | 532 |
| Patricia Bell | 0.69% | 264 |
| Randy Davis | 0.67% | 256 |
| Philemon Hill | 0.53% | 205 |
| Fernandez Sims | 0.44% | 170 |
| Trudy Hunter | 0.43% | 165 |
| Carl Jackson | 0.13% | 50 |
| Lanny Jackson | 0.11% | 41 |
| Donald Lomax | 0.08% | 29 |
| Total Votes | 38,366 | |
| Source: City of Birmingham, "General Election Results," August 29, 2017 | ||
Campaign themes
2021
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
William A. Bell did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.
See also
2021 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ AL.com, "William Bell wins another term as mayor of Birmingham," August 27, 2013
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 William Bell for Mayor, "Biography," accessed October 15, 2014
- ↑ BW City Paper "William Bell: The Historical Perspective," January, 7, 2010
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 AL.com, "Candidate for Birmingham mayor: William Bell," August 16, 2011
- ↑ Jefferson County, Alabama, "Elections Results, General Election – November 4, 2008," accessed August 18, 2017
- ↑ AL.com, "Meet the candidates for Birmingham City Council," July 7, 2017
- ↑ AL.com, "12 qualify to run for Birmingham mayor," July 7, 2017
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Larry Langford |
Mayor of Birmingham 2010–2017 |
Succeeded by Randall L. Woodfin |
| |||||||||
