Mayor Woodfin Updates Rotary on Birmingham’s Progress
Past President Eric Jack and Rotarian Lee Styslinger with Mayor Woodfin
This week the Rotary Club of Birmingham welcomed Randall L. Woodfin, Mayor of the City of Birmingham. He provided an update on priority areas, including public safety, education, economic development, and housing. The mayor congratulated the nine Birmingham City Schools students selected to receive RCB Foundation Jim Hughey Jr. Scholarships and told them his goal is to make Birmingham a place they want to come back to after the graduate from college. Mayor Woodfin applauded Rotarian Dr. Mark Sullivan, BCS Superintendent, and school system staff for enhancing educational opportunities for students that have led to increased enrollment. He also praised Rotarian Samantha Williams’s leadership of Birmingham Promise, which ensures all BCS students have access to free education at state colleges and universities. Mayor Woodfin discussed efforts to align with organizations such as the Birmingham Business Aliance and Prosper Birmingham to ensure a shared vision for the city’s economic identity, trajectory, support for small businesses and job creation. Mayor Woodfin highlighted the work of the Birmingham Crime Commission, co-chaired by Rotarian Lee Styslinger. He introduced the new leadership of the Birmingham Police Department and celebrated efforts that have resulted in a 46% reduction in homicides and record recruitment of new officers. The mayor also discussed the city’s proposed budget, which includes an additional $1.5 million to support the needs of the city’s chronic and youth unhoused populations.
Bio for Mayor Randall Woodfin
Randall L. Woodfin was sworn in as the 30th mayor of Birmingham, Alabama on Nov. 28, 2017. A native of Birmingham and graduate of Cumberland School of Law, Mayor Woodfin is an attorney and former president of the Birmingham Board of Education. Throughout his career, he has worked in various positions for the City of Birmingham, which is why he’s committed to bringing a new vision, a new dedication and a new energy to a city where he wants citizens to have every opportunity to work, play and grow to their fullest potential.
His dedication to his hometown and to others developed when he was 15 while working as a bagger at a supermarket in Birmingham. It was at the supermarket where Mayor Woodfin learned the importance of “Putting People First,” a concept he carried on to Morehouse College, then to law school and finally into his public service career. Today, that slogan is at the core of his administration.
But those words are more than a slogan. They are a strategy.
In order to make Birmingham a symbol for progress, Mayor Woodfin is working to bring improvements to economic development; strengthen education and career opportunities for students; empower women and minority small-business owners; bolster neighborhood revitalization in the city’s 99 neighborhoods; and lower crime.
Birmingham has always been a city for builders, from steel mills to startups. Mayor Woodfin's goal is to uphold the Magic City's legacy, making Birmingham a magnet for the next generation of purpose-driven builders who embrace innovation.
Mayor Woodfin’s love for his hometown is matched by his love of family – his wife Kendra, sons Aubrey and Mason and daughter Love.
Mayor Woodfin recently published his memoir, Son of Birmingham. He draws upon the street wisdom of Southern rap music; the power of family, friends, and faith; his education at the historically Black Morehouse College; and the daily joys and struggles of his Birmingham people to preach the progress every corner of our nation clamors for right now—servant leadership and responsive government for equitable, prosperous cities where everyone can reach their full potential.