December 8 – Update on the race for Birmingham Mayor

Birmingham Mayor

After such a high profile corruption trial, it seems that apathy is ruling the buildup to Birmingham’s special election next week. There are 14 candidates and hardly enough time for voters in the city to get to know them all.

So how many people will actually vote? Past elections give a clue.

If the past is a good predictor, the chances are good a majority of potential voters will not turn into actual voters.

In the 2005 City Council race, just 25 percent of eligible voters voted. That dropped to 20 percent for the 2009 council race in Au­gust.

The 2007 mayor’s race had a big turnout by comparison, with 45 percent of voters going to the polls. The Oct. 6 runoffs for the City Council drew just 14.5 per­cent of eligible voters to the polls.

This will also be Birmingham’s forth mayor in six weeks – after Larry Langford resigned, Carole Smitherman took the interim position. Then, with a new city council, a new interim mayor, Roderick Royal, was selected to fill the position. The election will pick a forth.

To learn more about the candidates, the local CBS affiliate has assembled interviews with most of the candidates and information on all of them.

To watch or read about them, click on the candidates name below:
Carole Smitherman, Steven Hoyt, William Bell, Patrick Cooper, Scott Douglas, Emory Anthony, Stephanie Sigler Huey, Edith Mayomi, Ernie Dunn (no information provided), Jimmy Snow, William Sumners, T.C. Cannon, Harry Turner and Jody Trautwein

The Birmingham News is also writing profiles on each candidate. So far, they have covered Patrick Cooper, Emory Anthony and William Bell.