By Erica Wright
The Birmingham Times
Birmingham City Council President Pro-Tempore Wardine Alexander will get to keep her District 7 seat.
On Tuesday, Alexander received 869 votes, or 53 percent, to defeat challenger Ray Brooks, who received 751 votes, or 46 percent, in the runoff election.
Alexander will serve through the next municipal elections in 2021.
“I am very grateful to the residents of District 7 for giving me this opportunity to continue to serve and I am so appreciative of the work that everyone did to make this a victory,” said Alexander on Tuesday night, “and I know that we will work together to bring the changes and improve the quality of life for the residents in District 7.”
Reached late Tuesday night, Brooks was magnanimous in defeat.
“The voters made their choice, I can do nothing but accept that,” Brooks said. “We ran a professional campaign, we ran a credible campaign, we fell short and I salute the winner . . . I’m not going anywhere.”
Alexander and Brooks, the former Birmingham Fire Chief, were forced into the runoff election after neither received at least 51 percent of the vote in the October 8 special election.
Alexander was appointed to the council in October 2018 to fill the vacant seat left by Jay Roberson, who stepped down September of that year. She was recently voted Council President Pro-Tempore on October 22 in a 5-4 vote.
The key to Tuesday’s victory was connecting with residents, said Alexander. “I shared with them my vision and showed them how we can all bring solutions to the problems that we face,” she said.
For the remainder of her term, Alexander said she plans to bring the vision she shared with voters, the mayor and fellow councilors a reality. That vision includes neighborhood revitalization, safety and road maintenance as well as workforce development and educational programs within the district.
“I want to continue to improve the quality of life for the district through working with the mayor and the council . . . and collaborating with everyone on future projects to help make District 7 and the city better,” she said.
Alexander is also a former Birmingham City Schools (BCS) Board of Education member and president, representing District 7 from 2013-2017 and serving two terms as Board President.
News staff writer Barnett Wright contributed to this report.
