Mayor Randall Woodfin recently took to the Birmingham Reddit webpage where he hosted an "ask me anything" (AMA) style conversation titled, "I am Randall Woodfin, Mayor of Birmingham. AMA!"
In his introduction, he said, "Serving as mayor of Birmingham has been the greatest honor of my life. With this AMA, I'd like to reflect on some accomplishments and have an open discussion about where we go from here."
"We've come a long way, but there's more to do. That's why I'm here — to answer your questions, listen to your ideas, and talk about the future of Birmingham. Ask me anything! I'll be back tomorrow to answer questions," he explained.
One person asked, "How do we know it's really you?" Woodfin replied, "I posted a picture."
While he answered a number of softball questions, including his favorite restaurant, Yo' Mama's, he avoided tougher ones, such as, "Mayor Woodfin, can you address the following corporate and PAC donations your campaign has accepted this cycle, given your pledge as an Our Revolution candidate in 2017 to not take any corporate money? How can we trust you to make decisions for the people of Birmingham if your pockets are lined by Alabama Power, Protective Life, and Regions, not to mention these mystery PACs?" while going on to list contributions.
Here are five questions he chose to answer with his responses.
Question: “Why’re (sic) you running again when you said during your first and second campaigns that you’d only serve two terms?”
Answer: You’re absolutely right. I never planned to run for a third term. When I first ran for mayor, my focus was on delivering real change for Birmingham in two terms. That was my honest intent. But once I stepped into office, reality hit.
COVID-19 rocked my first term and completely upended our city’s trajectory. Everything we set out to do in those first four years had to shift overnight. Our priorities became saving lives, keeping small businesses afloat, ensuring kids had access to education, and trying to stabilize our economy in the face of an unprecedented crisis.
The second term was about recovery and getting Birmingham back on its feet. We’ve worked to bring new jobs, make critical investments in public safety and education, and put resources into the neighborhoods that needed them most. But the reality is, I just wasn’t able to get everything done that I set out to accomplish.
There’s still work left to do. Public safety is at the top of that list. We’ve expanded our police department, launched a Real-Time Crime Center, and invested in community-based violence interruption. We also put together Birmingham’s first Community Safety Partnership, bringing together law enforcement, community leaders, and businesses to fight gun violence together. But we need more time to make these programs permanent and truly change the trajectory of public safety in Birmingham.
Beyond that, we have the chance to do something transformational. I want to expand early childhood education so every kid in Birmingham gets a strong start. I want to fully endow the Birmingham Promise so that tuition-free college and apprenticeships are here for generations. I want to finally eliminate the duplication of city facilities that has its roots in segregation-era policies. And I want to create real, lasting economic opportunities for young Black men in Birmingham because too many have been left out of the city’s progress – all work that’s more important than ever under the Trump administration.
And I’ll be real with you, another big reason I made this decision is because the people of Birmingham asked me to. At every public meeting I’ve attended, people have told me they want me to stay in this fight. That they see the progress we’ve made together and they know we’re not done. So I’m stepping up again, because I believe in this city, I believe in the work we’ve done, and I believe in what’s still left to do. Let’s finish the job.
Q: "Why is your response to valid questions & criticism from Birmingham residents to block them on social media? Have you read the recent SCOTUS case about how this practice is unconstitutional? Thanks for your time, as always!"
A: That’s a really good question, and I appreciate you asking it. We take freedom of speech very seriously — everyone has a right to voice their concerns, criticism, and opinions. At the same time, there are certain standards of conduct that apply when engaging on social media. We do not tolerate trolling, racial epithets, foul language, or personal attacks. If someone is engaging in conduct unbecoming of respectful discourse, that may result in them being restricted from interacting on my personal pages.
That said, I hear the concerns. I will be getting with my team to review our social media accounts —Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter — to ensure that people aren’t blocked simply for asking valid questions or offering fair criticism.
I also want to clarify something — my personal social media pages are not government platforms. If you want to criticize me on the official City of Birmingham pages, have at it. But on non-city platforms, we will enforce rules that ensure conversations remain productive and free from harassment. The goal is always to create a space for meaningful dialogue, and we’ll continue working to make sure that happens.
Q: "Can you talk to whoever does the patch jobs on our roads? All of our neighborhood roads just have Ruffner sized mounds of asphalt instead of flattened patches."
A: Trust me, I feel your frustration. I hate seeing potholes just as much as you do. But what really gets me mad is when a road gets “fixed” and the patch job is just as bad as the hole itself. This recently happened on Crestwood Boulevard actually, which some of you might have noticed.
I want to be clear though, most of these bad patches aren’t done by the City of Birmingham.
Our in-house team takes road repair seriously, and they do great work. The problem is that utility companies are constantly cutting into our streets — whether it’s for a mainline break, underground work, or another issue. They send a contractor to dig up the road, and then a different contractor comes in to patch it. But too often, that patch doesn’t meet our standards, leaving behind the rough, uneven streets you’re talking about.
What we’re doing now is holding these utility companies accountable. If they tear up our streets, we’re making sure they repair them the right way and at a standard that keeps roads safe and prevents damage to vehicles.
Q: "Mayor, what are your plans in improving roadway safety throughout the city, specifically the lighting issues that plague most US Highways and Interstates within the scope of the city?"
A: This has been an ongoing safety concern for motorists. It feels really crummy for us to have worse lighting than most cities in comparable size. The “Crown Jewel” of roadway lighting isn’t even functional anymore, so no more color-changing fun downtown.
The first — and honestly, the biggest — step in fixing roadway lighting is getting the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) to do their job. The state highway and interstate system is controlled by the state of Alabama, not the city. That means the lights on I-20, I-65, I-59, and I-459 are ALDOT’s responsibility.
We hear you loud and clear — bad lighting is a major safety issue, and it makes no sense that Birmingham has worse lighting than other cities of similar size. When the state is out here paving roads, they need to be fixing the lights too. That’s their job, that’s their responsibility, and we’re going to keep pushing them to get it done.
I just sent a message to the Director of ALDOT’s East Division two days ago about this. I text, I email, I call — I have our Department of Transportation send formal letters. We go back and forth with the state constantly about their responsibility to maintain lighting on these highways.
As for the lights at City Walk, we agree — it should be functional. That is the state’s responsibility as well. The state needs to step up and take care of the roads and highways they are responsible for. We’ll keep fighting to make sure they do.
Q: Why do you need 5 assistants that each make $195,000 per year? With one million dollars a year spent on assistants, why does the city need you?
A: I hear you, and I want to clarify something — the Jefferson County Personnel Board classifies any appointed role as an “assistant to the mayor,” but these positions are much more than assistants. The roles you’re referring to include a Chief of Staff, a Chief Strategist, a Chief Accountability Officer, and a Chief of Operations—all of whom are responsible for leading and managing over 30 city departments and executing on a half-billion-dollar city budget. The fifth position you may be thinking of isn’t even in my office — it’s an administrator for the City Council.
These leaders are responsible for overseeing 3,000 city employees, ensuring critical services are provided to residents, and implementing the vision I’ve laid out as mayor. Their jobs require long hours, strategic decision-making, and hands-on leadership to keep Birmingham running. The reality is, these are people who could easily work in the private sector for higher salaries, but they’ve chosen public service. And if we want to attract and keep top talent, we have to pay them what they’re worth. Running a city of this size isn’t easy, and having strong leadership at the top is essential to making sure city services are delivered effectively and efficiently.
The election will be held on August 26, 2025. Woodfin faces challengers State Rep. Juandalynn Givan (D-Birmingham), Kamau Afrika and Jerimy Littlepage.
Apryl Marie Fogel is a Birmingham resident who frequently appears on and guest hosts radio programs around the state. She can be reached at [email protected] or on X and Facebook at @aprylmarie.
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