# List of mayors of Birmingham, Alabama

Elections in Alabama :
Federal government
Presidential elections
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Presidential primaries
Democratic
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Republican
1992
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U.S. Senate elections
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U.S. House of Representatives elections
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2024 :
State government
State elections
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Gubernatorial elections
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Lieutenant gubernatorial elections
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Attorney General elections
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Secretary of State elections
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State Auditor elections
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State Treasurer elections
2010
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2026
Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries elections
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Supreme Court elections
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Public Service Commission elections
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Senate elections
2010
2014
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House of Representatives elections
2010
2014
2018
2022
2026 :
Ballot measures
1999
Amendment 1
2000
Amendment 2
2006
Amendment 774
2020
Amendment 1
2024
Amendment 1 (November) :
Auburn
Municipal
2010
2014
2018
2022 :
Birmingham
Mayoral elections
2017
2021
2025 :
Huntsville
Mayoral elections
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024 :
Lee County
Elections
2024 :
Mobile
Mayoral elections
2021
2025 :
Montgomery
Mayoral elections
2007
2009 sp
2011
2015
2019
2023 :
Government :
vte :
The office of mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, United States, was established with the incorporation of the city in 1871. Robert Henley was appointed by Governor Robert B. Lindsay to a two-year term. Until 1910, the Mayor presided over an ever-expanding Board of Aldermen who generally campaigned on the same ticket. Progressive reformers lobbied for a change in the form of government that year, resulting in the creation of a five-member Board of Commissioners (later reduced to three members). The President of the Commission, though not formally holding the title, was widely acknowledged as "Mayor" under that system.
As Birmingham grew, it eventually became the county seat of Jefferson County. Before Birmingham, the county seats were established first at Carrollsville (1819–1821), then Elyton (1821–1873). For many years, Birmingham was viewed as underrepresented in the state and federal legislature because its representation did not increase proportionately with its population growth. The city's new urban needs were ignored by rural officials, who refused to redistrict the area appropriately to represent the influx of immigrants and manual laborers, among others. The transition of Birmingham to the seat of Jefferson County allowed its local politics to become more influential on the state level.
In 1963, as part of another progressive effort, this time to unseat Public Safety Commissioner Bull Connor, the form of government was again changed by referendum. Reorganized under Alabama's Mayor Council Act of 1955, the city government consisted of a mayor and nine at-large City Council representatives. Changing demographics in the city's electorate led to the election of Birmingham's first African-American mayor, Richard Arrington Jr., in 1979.
In 1989 a change was made to elect council members by district, with 4-year terms coming at the midpoint of the mayoral term (allowing sitting council members to campaign for the mayoral office without having to resign their seats).

## Mayors

| Image | Representative | Years | Electoral history |
| Mayors of Birmingham ||||
| | Robert Henley | December 19, 1871 – July 1872 | Appointed by Robert B. Lindsay |
| | W. J. McDonald | July 1872 | Acting Mayor while Henley was absent |
| | Thomas Tate | July 1872 | Interim Mayor |
| | Robert Henley | July 1872 – April 22, 1873 | Died |
| | James Robert Powell | 1873–1875 [data missing] | Succeeded after Robert Henley's death. [data missing] |
| | William Harrington Morris | 1875–1878 [data missing] | |
| | Henry M. Caldwell | 1878 [data missing] | |
| | Thomas Jeffers | 1878–1882 [data missing] | |
| | A. O. Lane | 1882–1888 [data missing] | |
| | B. A. Thompson | 1888–1890 [data missing] | |
| | A. O. Lane | 1890–1892 [data missing] | |
| | David J. Fox | 1892–1894 [data missing] | |
| | James A. Van Hoose | 1894–1896 [data missing] | |
| | Frank V. Evans | 1896–1899 [data missing] | |
| | Mel Drennen | 1899–1905 [data missing] | |
| | George B. Ward | 1905–1908 [data missing] | |
| | Frank P. O'Brien | 1908–1910 [data missing] | |
| | Culpepper Exum | 1910–1913 [data missing] | |
| Presidents of the Birmingham City Commission ||||
| | George B. Ward | November 1913 – 1917 [data missing] | Mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, 1905–1908 Chose not to re-run |
| | Nathaniel Barrett | 1917–1921 [data missing] | |
| | David E. McClendon | 1921–1925 [data missing] | |
| | James M. Jones Jr. | 1925–1940 [data missing] | |
| | Cooper Green | 1940–1953 [data missing] | |
| | James W. Morgan | 1953–1961 [data missing] | |
| | Art Hanes | 1961–1963 [data missing] | |
| Mayors of Birmingham ||||
| | Albert Boutwell | 1963–1967 [data missing] | |
| | George G. Siebels Jr. | 1967–1975 [data missing] | |
| | David Vann | 1975 – November 12, 1979 [data missing] | |
| | Richard Arrington Jr. | November 13, 1979 – 1999 | First African-American mayor [data missing] |
| | William A. Bell | 1999 [data missing] | Interim Mayor |
| | Bernard Kincaid | 1999 – November 12, 2007 [data missing] | |
| | Larry Langford | November 13, 2007 – October 28, 2009 [data missing] | |
| | Carole Smitherman | October 29, 2009 – November 2009 [data missing] | Acting Mayor First African-American female mayor [data missing] |
| | Roderick Royal | November 2009 – January 25, 2010 [data missing] | Acting Mayor |
| | William A. Bell | January 26, 2010 – November 27, 2017 [data missing] | |
| | Randall Woodfin | November 28, 2017 – present [data missing] | |

## President of the Commission

| Representative | Years | Electoral history |
| Culpepper Exum | 1913 [data missing] | [data missing] |
| George B. Ward | November 1913 – 1917 [data missing] | Mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, 1905–1908 Chose not to re-run |
| Nathaniel Barrett | 1917–1921 [data missing] | [data missing] |
| David E. McClendon | 1921–1925 [data missing] | [data missing] |
| James M. Jones Jr. | 1925–1940 [data missing] | [data missing] |
| Cooper Green | 1940–1953 [data missing] | [data missing] |
| James W. Morgan | 1953–1961 [data missing] | [data missing] |
| Art Hanes | 1961–1963 [data missing] | [data missing] |

## Mayor-Council Act of 1955

The Mayor-Council Act was a law passed by the Alabama State Legislature which restructured the municipal government of the City of Birmingham. It was intended to provide the citizens of Birmingham with more appropriate representation in government that was reflective of population changes during the century. It also attempted to balance the legislative and executive powers of the municipal government by removing the President of the Commission's ability to vote on proposed actions, instead giving the Mayor only veto power. The act was adopted following a vote by a referendum of Birmingham citizens on November 6, 1962. The first mayor under the Act was elected on March 5, 1963, as Albert Boutwell defeated incumbent Commissioner of Public Safety Bull Connor.