Birmingham City Council districts

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Birmingham City Council districts were drawn in 1989 to accommodate a court order to preserve minority (white) political representation on the Birmingham City Council as the city became majority Black.

Prior to 1913 members of the Birmingham Board of Aldermen were elected by voting ward. From then until 1963 the members of the Birmingham City Commission were elected city-wide. In the first election the four candidates with the most votes won four-year terms, with the rest serving for two years before the next election. Each two years thereafter, five seats would come up for election with the top four vote-getters winning four-year terms and the fifth-place finisher serving for two years before the next election.

As a result of a lawsuit brought by Russell Yarbrough (Yarbrough et al v. City of Birmingham), the court agreed with the plaintiffs that voting by district would protect the right of white voters to be represented. To keep the size of the council the same, nine districts were drawn, using 1980 census data. It has been observed that other consequences of the change have included increased sectional divisions and competition between districts and neighborhoods for city funding.

Council districts were redrawn using updated census data prior to the 1993, 2003, 2013, and 2023 municipal elections.

2022 redistricting

A 2020 Redistricting Committee was formed with Wardine Alexander with Crystal Smitherman and Hunter Williams as members. They worked with Kareen Crayton of Crimcard Consulting Services in Washington D.C. to prepare plans that complied with legal and judicial standards. Preliminary maps were displayed during public hearings, with district-by-district maps available online.

The map was adopted by the City Council on a 7-2 vote on April 19, 2022. Valerie Abbott and Darell O'Quinn voted against the plan. Abbott complained that the "heart" of District 3, including Ramsay High School, the Five Points South business district, and even her church, had been lost to District 6.

Birmingham City Council
District 1 Clinton Woods District 4 J. T. Moore District 7 Wardine Alexander
District 2 Hunter Williams District 5 Darrell O'Quinn District 8 Carol Clarke
District 3 Valerie Abbott District 6 Crystal Smitherman District 9 LaTonya Tate

References

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