William Bell is one state Supreme Court ruling away from being the certified as the winner of the February 5 special election to fill the Jefferson County Commission seat that was vacated after the election of Larry Langford as mayor of Birmingham last year. The Birmingham News reports that Circuit Court Judge Scott Vowell has ruled in Bell’s favor. The commissioner-elect has scheduled an 11 a.m. news conference in City Hall.
Tag Archives: City Council
It’s Commissioner Bell now… well, almost
UPDATE: Good viewing for city council’s possible online debut
UPDATE #2: This week’s meeting is now streaming live on the city’s website – and as of 12:39 p.m. they were currently hearing public comments about the Glen Iris item.
UPDATE #1: A quick check of the city’s website now lets us know that meetings will begin streaming next week Tuesday, March 11. Today’s meeting appears as though it will be available in the archives later today though.
As we first shared with you in December, the City of Birmingham’s new website would allow them to do some new things – including giving residents the opportunity to watch live streams of city council meetings from the comfort of their computer monitors. The Birmingham Business Journal reported yesterday that today would be the first time that this feature will be used. A current check of the site though shows only last week’s meeting available in the archives. It will definitely be a good day to watch online if it is in fact available (though it is not currently available as of the posting of this item).
Posted in 35203, City Council, Citywide
Tagged agenda items, AL, Alabama, Birmingham, City Council, meetings, streaming
City Council green-lights Langford’s Fair Park plan
Birmingham city councilors gave Mayor Larry Langford a collective nod to move forward on a multi-million dollar plan to overhaul Fair Park, and potentially jump start redevelopment in the oft-neglected west side of town.
The seven councilors present at Thursday’s Committee of the Whole meeting questioned how the city could shift earmarked bond funds to pay for the park concept, when the previous administration told them shifting funds wasn’t possible. Nevertheless, they unanimously agreed that Langford could hire an architect and begin the process of bringing to life an Olympic-style sports, entertainment, retail and residential complex on the 40-acre site.
Langford could barely contain his joy at the councilors’ decision. “For the first time, you have city councilors saying, if you take a little money out of my district for the good of the city, it’s okay.”
Posted in Citywide, The First 100
Tagged Alabama, approval, Birmingham, City Council, Fair Park, Larry Langford, plan, redevelopment
Bell enters commission race
Whether or not the results are challenged in court (as has been indicated by the governor’s office), there will be a notable race for the Jefferson County Commission seat vacated by Larry Langford in order for him to serve as mayor of Birmingham.
Birmingham City Councilor William Bell announced his intentions to seek the seat currently occupied by George Bowman. He’s the sixth person to declare their intention to run in the February 5 special election.
If Bell were to win, there would be an appointment to the City Council until an election was held to name his successor. Want to know more? Check out Kyle’s post on Mixed Media.
Photo credit: Bob Farley/f8photo
Posted in Election '08, politics, Regionwide
Tagged City Council, election, February 5, George Bowman, Jefferson County Commission, politics, William Bell
