State Rep. Juandalynn Givan (D-Birmingham) had some choice words for Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin on Tuesday after the pair dueled on social media over the responses to Saturday's deadly Five Points South shooting.
After the Saturday night shooting that claimed the lives of four people, Woodfin was swift to throw the blame on so-called Glock switches, which convert semi-automatic pistols into automatic ones. He also blamed the state's 2022 permitless carry law, which removed the requirement for lawful citizens to purchase a pistol permit.
In the aftermath, state and local leadership have offered ideas for curbing the city's escalating crime situation. One of those is Givan, who recently gave an interview in which she provided an opinion that seemed to rub Woodfin the wrong way.
In the WBRC interview, Givan stated that the city was "unsafe" and "under siege." She further noted that Woodfin's proposed legislative fixes do not address the problem, which she said stems from a lack of law enforcement in the city.
In response, Woodfin posted a meme on his Facebook with the faces of all of Jefferson County's state representatives, except for State Rep. Patrick Sellers (D-Birmingham), thanking all of them for their dedication to public safety in the area. However, Givan's picture had "not you" posted over her.
Ironically, five Republicans in Woodfin's meme voted against a Glock switch ban bill in the 2024 legislative session.
Givan initially responded with some social media posts of her own.
On Tuesday, Givan told 1819 News that she was disappointed that Woodfin decided to engage in personal attacks while his city was in disarray.
"That's it for me," Givan said. "You're a little boy in a big job, and I meant what I said. Listen, I can only speak to the city of Birmingham where I am. It's a crisis everywhere. First of all, you have to have leadership that's going to listen. You can't have a mayor that says they are progressive, that ran on a progressive ticket but they are not doing anything that is progressive. You don't see the progression in the city of Birmingham."
Givan said this beef began two weeks ago, after Woodfin called her, accusing her of starting a rumor that she was seeking Woodfin's seat while he intended to take a cabinet position in a possible Kamala Harris administration.
"I can't talk to this little boy," Givan continued. "I said, 'I don't even know what you're talking about, but since you're accusing of something, I might need to sit down and give this some consideration.'
"So, I did the interview yesterday, and I guess that was a trigger for him because next thing I know, somebody sends me this meme. I told him, 'Honey, I like big pictures. Next time, you need to use a bigger picture of me.'"
According to Givan, Woodfin's reaction to the shooting was the final straw in his lack of communication with state leadership and lawmakers.
"From now on, I'm going to treat him like the little boy he is," Givan declared. "I will not work with him to get anything done. When you do something like that, you are saying to the world that you are either desperate, you are bothered, you are threatened and you have a lack of regard for your leaders in your area."
"You're dealing with a mayor who does nothing but try to isolate people that don't agree with him. He ices people out. He excludes them, and then he goes on these rants and these temper tantrums," she continued. "At the end of the day, I am a grown, tenured leader. So, whatever Randall Woodfin wants to say about me, a post or whatever, I say to him, 'bring it.' Because this is not the problem that you want. Because I am going to treat you like the child that you act like. We have people dying."
"You['re] picking a fight that is so unnecessary, and you're picking a fight with the wrong person. You ought to be picking fights with these criminals out here to get them off these streets. You ought to be picking fights with someone to come up with a plan to curtail all of the losses that we're seeing in the city of Birmingham. Businesses are closing in numbers. That's what you need to be picking a fight on. You need to take your Crayola crayon box, get your sketch pad out, and you need to sketch out a plan to solve all the problems that you have caused since you['ve] been mayor," Givan concluded.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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