26 Facts About Randall Woodfin

Randall Woodfin was born on May 29,1981 and is an American lawyer and politician who is the 34th and current mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, after winning the October 3,2017, runoff against incumbent William A Bell.

Randall Woodfin attended North Birmingham Elementary School, Putnam Middle School, and Shades Valley High School.

Randall Woodfin graduated from Morehouse College, where he majored in political science and was student government association president.

Randall Woodfin earned a Juris Doctor from the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University.

Randall Woodfin ran unsuccessfully for the Birmingham Board of Education's District 3 seat in 2009, placing third in a four-person race.

In 2009, Randall Woodfin became an assistant city attorney for Birmingham, a position he held until he was elected mayor in 2017.

Randall Woodfin was appointed president of the board two months after being elected; he held that position until 2015 and remained on the board until 2017.

Randall Woodfin is a board member of several community organizations, including the Alabama Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, and the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama.

Randall Woodfin is a graduate of Leadership Birmingham class of 2014, Leadership Alabama class of 2016, and was a featured speaker at TEDx Birmingham 2017.

Randall Woodfin was the Alabama state director for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.

Randall Woodfin announced his run for Birmingham mayor in August 2016, challenging incumbent candidate William Bell along with 10 other candidates.

Bell criticized Randall Woodfin for receiving out-of-state contributions during the campaign; Randall Woodfin argued that it was the only way to combat the incumbent candidate's sizable local donor base.

Randall Woodfin received support from Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who recorded a robo-call telling voters that Randall Woodfin would fight for Medicare for All.

Randall Woodfin promised throughout the campaign to conduct a forensic audit on city finances, but upon taking office instead conducted a performance audit.

Randall Woodfin's administration has drawn criticism for a perceived lack of transparency, with AL.

Randall Woodfin has argued that his predecessor's policy regarding urban blight was "not as aggressive as it needed to be" and that it would be a "priority" for his administration.

In 2019, Randall Woodfin's administration unveiled a public service announcement campaign titled "PEACE" featuring 30-second videos of mothers of gun violence victims telling their stories.

The city's homicide rate has stayed approximately the same since Randall Woodfin took office; the city logged 117 homicides in 2017,110 in 2018,115 in 2019,125 in 2020,141 in 2021, and 152 in 2022.

Randall Woodfin has maintained that total violent crime has dropped in the city during his tenure, and points to the police department's removal of thousands of guns from the streets.

Randall Woodfin urged the council to pass a "shelter-in-place" ordinance on March 24, which has been extended through the end of April 2020.

The next morning Randall Woodfin ordered the removal of the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Linn Park to try and prevent another protest.

Randall Woodfin filed an executive order that declared a state of emergency, which established a 24-hour ban on public demonstrations and gatherings of all kinds in the city, and instituted a public safety curfew of one week.

Randall Woodfin endorsed Joe Biden in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, despite having received Bernie Sanders' endorsement during his 2017 mayoral race.

Randall Woodfin was selected as one of seventeen speakers to jointly deliver the keynote address at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.

Randall Woodfin identifies as a political leftist, and in particular has championed policies such as criminal justice reform, free college tuition, and marijuana legalization.

Randall Woodfin grew up with three siblings; his older brother Ralph was killed by gun violence in 2011.