2011 Birmingham, Alabama mayoral election

2011 Birmingham, Alabama mayoral election

August 23, 2011
 
Candidate William A. Bell Pat Bell Kamau Afrika
Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Nonpartisan
Popular vote 15,947 655 617
Percentage 88.96% 3.65% 3.44%

Mayor before election

William A. Bell
Nonpartisan

Elected mayor

William A. Bell
Nonpartisan

The 2011 Birmingham, Alabama mayoral election was held on August 23, 2011, to elect the mayor of Birmingham, Alabama. In 2009, the City Council consolidated the mayoral and city council elections by moving the timing of mayoral elections.[1] A legal challenge to the change was rejected by the Circuit Court,[2] and ultimately by the Alabama Supreme Court.[3] As a result, the winner of the 2011 mayoral election would only serve a two-year term.[4]

Incumbent Mayor William A. Bell, who was first elected in a 2010 special election, ran for re-election.[5] He faced little-known opponents,[6] and won re-election in a landslide, receiving 89 percent of the vote.

General election

Candidates

  • William A. Bell, incumbent Mayor[5]
  • Pat Bell, 1995 and 1999 candidate for Mayor[4]
  • Kamau Afrika, perennial candidate[7]
  • Harry "Traveling Shoes" Turner Jr., perennial candidate[6]
  • T. C. Cannon, bar owner, perennial candidate[8]
  • Buddy Hendrix, perennial candidate[7]

Results

2011 Birmingham mayoral election results[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan William A. Bell (inc.) 15,947 88.96%
Nonpartisan Pat Bell 655 3.65%
Nonpartisan Kamau Afrika 617 3.44%
Nonpartisan Harry "Traveling Shoes" Turner Jr. 286 1.60%
Nonpartisan T. C. Cannon 263 1.47%
Nonpartisan Willis H. Buddy Hendrix 158 0.88%
Total votes 17,926 100.00%

References

  1. ^ The mayor, election, term, qualification (art. IV, § 4.01). 2009. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
  2. ^ Bryant, Joseph (June 10, 2010). "City Council elections ruled valid". The Birmingham News. p. 1B. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Bandy v. City of Birmingham, 73 So.3d 1233, 696 (Ala. 2011) (". . . we conclude that the City had the authority under § 11-46-5, Ala.Code 1975, to change by ordinance the days of the general municipal elections and runoff elections from the second Tuesday in October and the third Tuesday thereafter to the fourth Tuesday in August and the sixth Tuesday thereafter.").
  4. ^ a b Bryant, Joseph (August 2, 2011). "Last day to qualify for race". The Birmingham News. p. 2C. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b Bryant, Joseph D. (June 20, 2011). "Bell's only hat in ring so far". The Birmingham News. p. 1A. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b Kennedy, Joey (July 24, 2011). "Few ready to take on Mayor Bell". The Birmingham News. p. 2F. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b Bryant, Joseph (June 27, 2011). "2 candidates in mayoral race so far". The Birmingham News. p. 2B. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Bryant, Joseph D. (August 3, 2011). "6 qualify for Aug. 23 election". The Birmingham News. p. 2B. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "MAYORAL ELECTION - CITY OF BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - AUGUST 23, 2011" (PDF). Birmingham City Clerk. August 30, 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 20, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2025.