1886 Birmingham mayoral election
The 1886 Birmingham mayoral election was held on December 8, 1886 to decide the Mayor of Birmingham and a slate of aligned candidates who would serve as the Birmingham Board of Aldermen, representing the city's four voting wards. 1,786 ballots were cast. In the weeks leading up to the election it was reported that many Black men were registering, but split their votes among both candidates. Overall the campaign and election were remembered as "the quietest election in the history of Birmingham," with no incidents of violence or complaints of fraud.
Incumbent A. O. Lane won the election by a 1,146 to 540 majority, setting up a third administration. His board of aldermen was made up of:
- 1st Ward: Isaac Hochstadter and John Colley
- 2nd Ward: Robert Warnock and B. F. Moore
- 3rd Ward: D. M. Drennen and E. J. Smyer
- 4th Ward: Eugene Enslen and James O'Connor
Opposing Lane was a "Workingman's Ticket" headed by Mayoral candidate James B. Luckie, a physician and first chief of the Birmingham Fire Department. His slate of aldermen included:
- 1st Ward: L. L. Schwarz and W. W. Ansley
- 2nd Ward: George Eubank and W. H. Gordon
- 3rd Ward: John Sheldon and James McArdle
- 4th Ward: C. Perkins and Maurice Throckmorton
The results of the election were reported by ward:
- 1st Ward: Lane, 230 votes - Luckie, 220 votes
- 2nd Ward: Lane, 283 votes - Luckie, 113 votes
- 3rd Ward: Lane, 223 votes - Luckie, 82 votes
- 4th Ward: Lane, 410 votes - Luckie, 125 votes
- Total: Lane, 1,146 votes (64%) - Luckie, 540 votes (36%)
Some of Luckie's supporters discussed challenging the result of the election on the basis that some of the Lane tickets which had been printed up were about 1/8th of an inch wider than the maximum size allowed by law. The newspapers scoffed at the suggestion of such a frivolous suit.
References
- "606: Mayor Lane's Majority Over Dr. Luckie" (December 8, 1886) The Birmingham Age, p. 4