William Bell

William A. Bell, Sr (born 1949 in Birmingham) is a long-time Birmingham City Council representative, an interim Mayor of Birmingham after the retirement of Richard Arrington, Jr, and a three-time candidate for the mayor's office.

Bell was first elected to the City Council in 1979, representing District 5. He was elected City Council president in 1985, becoming the first African-American to hold that seat. He was re-elected to that position in 1987 and again in 1997.

Early in his career, Bell was known for his outspokenness. He made headlines by openly criticizing Birmingham's support for events at the segregated Shoal Creek Golf Club in 1990.

Bell and Jefferson County Commission member Jeff Germany were jointly found to have failed to report their investments in a business that benefitted from City and County votes in which they took part. A year later, their lobbying on behalf of the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority was determined to violate state ethics laws. Both cases were dropped.

In 1994 Bell ran for the County Commission , but his qualification to run was questioned because redistricting had left his house in College Hills outside the district in which he was running. To satisfy the residency requirement, Bell rented a room at the Pickwick Hotel and then moved into Quinlan Castle. During the campaign, which he lost, Bell fractured his leg in a tussle with a private investigator who caught him mowing the yard at his regular residence.

Bell served briefly as interim Mayor of Birmingham after the retirement of Richard Arrington in 1999, and entered the 2001 Birmingham mayoral election as a decided favorite. However his move to the mayor's office left Arrington's Jefferson County Citizens Coalition without a voting majority in the Council, opening the way for opposing voices in the chambers which made Bell seem ineffective.

Bell's campaign that year raised over $1 million, placing him far ahead of any other candidate. He won the most votes in the general election, but was forced into a primary with Bernard Kincaid, who had 27%. In a stunning rally, however, Kincaid bested Bell 51% to 49% in the runoff. Bell returned to the position of City Council President, where he was accused of actively disrupting the mayor's ability to perform his job. His plan to turn the assets of the Birmingham Water Works over to the Water Works Board in exchange for money for school construction (an intiative dubbed the "Bell Plan") drew mixed reactions, but ultimately passed.

Bell subsequently lost his Council seat in the 2001 Birmingham City Council election to newcomer Elias Hendricks in a vote that was widely interpreted as supporting Kincaid over the incumbent council.

Bell ran for mayor in 2003, finishing in third place behind Kincaid and Carole Smitherman. He successfully challenged Hendricks for the District 5 Council seat in 2005 and returned to the council in the role of "elder statesman", keeping his opinions to himself except to make procedural points or to plea for more unity and decorum. The exception occurred in 2006 when he addressed fellow Councilor Roderick Royal as a "little twerp."

Bell serves on the Council's Transportation and Communication Committee and the Public Safety Committee. He claims the following accomplishments in his official biography:

• Intstrumental in implementing the council consent agenda for expediting approval of non-controversial initiatives.
• Assisted in funding development of a fitness track and mini-park at Legion Field.
• Responsible for Park Place, the first Hope VI project in downtown Birmingham.
• Generated more than $197 million for Birmingham schools and $87 million for UAB capital improvements through the "Bell Plan".

He is currently a candidate for the 2007 Birmingham mayoral election, and has earned endorsements from the Fraternal Order of Police Birmingham Lodge No. 1 and the Firefighters Association Local 117.

Bell is a graduate of John Carroll Catholic High School and earned his Master's degree in psychology and guidance counseling from UAB and a Juris Doctorate from Miles College in Birmingham. He was a founding member of the Birmingham Construction Industry Authority and 100 Black Men, a mentoring group. He has served on the boards for the National League of Cities and the Metropolitan Adversity Coalition. His other memberships include the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, the Birmingham Retired Teachers Association, and Operation New Birmingham.

Bell is married to the former Sharon Carson and has two children William, Jr and Jillian, both graduates of Ramsay High School and the University of Alabama. He is a member of Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church and also sings in the Sixth Avenue Baptist Church male chorus.

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Preceded by: Richard Arrington

Mayor of Birmingham (interim) 1999

Succeeded by: Bernard Kincaid

References

• Bryant, Joseph D. (June 17, 2007) "Bell announces he'll run for mayor." Birmingham News.
• Bryant, Joseph D. (September 2, 2007) "Hopefuls have just weeks to win votes." Birmingham News.
• Bryant, Joseph D. (September 19, 2007) "Bell advances new image in 3rd run for mayor." Birmingham News.

External links

• Bell's council bio at informationbirmingham.com
• William Bell for Mayor website
• William Bell for Mayor on MySpace.com