1999 Birmingham, Alabama mayoral election

The 1999 Birmingham, Alabama mayoral election was held on November 2, 1999, following a primary election on October 12, 1999, to elect the mayor of Birmingham, Alabama. Mayor Richard Arrington Jr. announced that he would not seek another term,^[1] and resigned from office on July 19, 1999, elevating City Council President William A. Bell as interim Mayor.^[2]

Bell ran for re-election with Arrington's endorsement,^[2] and faced a crowded field of opponents, including City Councilmen Bill Johnson and Bernard Kincaid, State Representative George Perdue, and former County Commissioner Reuben Davis. In the primary election, Bell fell just short of an outright majority, winning 49 percent of the vote, and proceeded to a runoff election with Kincaid, who placed second with 27 percent.^[3] Despite Bell's advantages in the election, Kincaid ultimately defeated him by a narrow margin in the runoff election, receiving 51 percent of the vote to Bell's 49 percent.^[4]

Primary election

Candidates

William A. Bell, interim Mayor^[2]
Bernard Kincaid, City Councilman^[5]
Bill Johnson, City Councilman^[6]
Horace Huntley, University of Alabama at Birmingham history professor^[7]
George Perdue, State Representative^[8]
Pat Bell, public relations consultant^[9]
Chief Red Feather, retired U.S. Navy SEAL^[10]
Renda Williams, city worker^[11]
Reuben Davis, former Jefferson County Commissioner^[12]
Noel Leonard, county government employee^[13]
Lester Cobb, roofing contractor^[14]
Phillip Love, car salesman^[15]
Ardella Y. Bland Ford, sheet metal worker^[14]
Wayne Sowell, perennial candidate^[16]

Declined

Earl Hilliard Sr., U.S. Representative from Alabama's 7th congressional district^[17]
Larry Langford, Mayor of Fairfield, former Birmingham City Councilman, 1979 candidate for Mayor^[18]
Carole Smitherman, former Circuit Judge^[19]

Results

Primary election results^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	William A. Bell (inc.)	36,278	49.35%
	Nonpartisan	Bernard Kincaid	19,625	26.69%
	Nonpartisan	Bill Johnson	9,149	12.44%
	Nonpartisan	Horace Huntley	2,782	3.78%
	Nonpartisan	George Perdue	2,780	3.78%
	Nonpartisan	Pat Bell	1,008	1.37%
	Nonpartisan	Chief Red Feather	868	1.18%
	Nonpartisan	Renda Williams	237	0.32%
	Nonpartisan	Reuben Davis	155	0.21%
	Nonpartisan	Noel Leonard	152	0.21%
	Nonpartisan	Lester Cobb	144	0.20%
	Nonpartisan	Phillip Love	143	0.19%
	Nonpartisan	Ardella Y. Bland Ford	110	0.15%
	Nonpartisan	Wayne Sowell	88	0.12%
Total votes			73,519	100.00%

Runoff election

Results

1999 Birmingham mayoral runoff results^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Bernard Kincaid	32,169	50.90%
	Nonpartisan	William A. Bell (inc.)	31,033	49.10%
Total votes			63,202	100.00%

References

^ Rupinski, Patrick (November 13, 1998). "Crowd may vie for post". Birmingham Post-Herald. p. 1A. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b ^c Wheeler Stewart, Sherrel (July 19, 1999). "Bell becomes interim mayor, tells of plans". The Birmingham News. p. 1A. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Rupinski, Patrick (October 13, 1999). "Bell holds advantage: Denied outright win, he still has office, large war chest". Birmingham Post-Herald. p. 1A. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Blackledge, Brett J. (November 3, 1999). "Kincaid new mayor: Councilman beats interim Mayor Bell". Birmingham Post-Herald. p. 1A. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Wheeler Stewart, Sherrel (August 27, 1999). "Bernard Kincaid enters race for mayor, vows city cleanup". The Birmingham News. p. 1B. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Johnson entering mayoral race". Birmingham Post-Herald. August 19, 1999. p. 1D. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "UAB history professor says he'll run for mayor of Birmingham". Montgomery Advertiser. February 14, 1999. p. 5C. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Wheeler Stewart, Sherrel (July 2, 1999). "Perdue enters race for mayor". The Birmingham News. p. 1A. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Wheeler Stewart, Sherrel (February 22, 1999). "Mayor's race draws long list of hopefuls". The Birmingham News. p. 1A. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Kizzire, Jamie (June 25, 1999). "Mayoral race hails the chief". The Birmingham News. p. 1A. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Howell, Vickii (October 6, 1999). "Mayoral candidate says truth must be told on city issues". The Birmingham News. p. 1C. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Wheeler Stewart, Sherrel (February 7, 1999). "Former commissioner will run for mayor". The Birmingham News. p. 20A. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Blackledge, Brett J. (October 6, 1999). "Mayoral candidates promise more parks". The Birmingham News. p. 2C. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b Little, Jaronda; Blackledge, Brett J. (September 20, 1999). "Mayor race attracts varied field". The Birmingham News. p. 1A, 6A. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Wheeler Stewart, Sherrel (August 23, 1999). "Three more enter the race for mayor". The Birmingham News. p. 1B. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Howell, Vickii (October 6, 1999). "Sowell says he's running because Langford didn't". The Birmingham News. p. 1C. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Brumas, Michael (July 30, 1999). "Hilliard: Count me out of the mayor's race". The Birmingham News. p. 1A. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Pierce, Phil (January 1, 1999). "Langford won't run for B'ham mayor". The Birmingham News. p. 1B. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Ex-judge won't run for mayor". The Huntsville Times. April 27, 1999. p. B2. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "CITY OF BIRMINGHAM - MUNICIPAL ELECTION - OCTOBER 12, 1999" (PDF). Birmingham City Clerk. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 15, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
^ "CITY OF BIRMINGHAM - RUN-OFF ELECTION - NOVEMBER 2, 1999" (PDF). Birmingham City Clerk. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 20, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2025.

[1] Rupinski, Patrick (November 13, 1998). "Crowd may vie for post". Birmingham Post-Herald. p. 1A. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[tells_of_plans-2] Wheeler Stewart, Sherrel (July 19, 1999). "Bell becomes interim mayor, tells of plans". The Birmingham News. p. 1A. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[3] Rupinski, Patrick (October 13, 1999). "Bell holds advantage: Denied outright win, he still has office, large war chest". Birmingham Post-Herald. p. 1A. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[4] Blackledge, Brett J. (November 3, 1999). "Kincaid new mayor: Councilman beats interim Mayor Bell". Birmingham Post-Herald. p. 1A. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[5] Wheeler Stewart, Sherrel (August 27, 1999). "Bernard Kincaid enters race for mayor, vows city cleanup". The Birmingham News. p. 1B. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[6] "Johnson entering mayoral race". Birmingham Post-Herald. August 19, 1999. p. 1D. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[7] "UAB history professor says he'll run for mayor of Birmingham". Montgomery Advertiser. February 14, 1999. p. 5C. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[8] Wheeler Stewart, Sherrel (July 2, 1999). "Perdue enters race for mayor". The Birmingham News. p. 1A. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[9] Wheeler Stewart, Sherrel (February 22, 1999). "Mayor's race draws long list of hopefuls". The Birmingham News. p. 1A. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[10] Kizzire, Jamie (June 25, 1999). "Mayoral race hails the chief". The Birmingham News. p. 1A. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[11] Howell, Vickii (October 6, 1999). "Mayoral candidate says truth must be told on city issues". The Birmingham News. p. 1C. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[12] Wheeler Stewart, Sherrel (February 7, 1999). "Former commissioner will run for mayor". The Birmingham News. p. 20A. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[13] Blackledge, Brett J. (October 6, 1999). "Mayoral candidates promise more parks". The Birmingham News. p. 2C. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[varied_field-14] Little, Jaronda; Blackledge, Brett J. (September 20, 1999). "Mayor race attracts varied field". The Birmingham News. p. 1A, 6A. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[15] Wheeler Stewart, Sherrel (August 23, 1999). "Three more enter the race for mayor". The Birmingham News. p. 1B. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[16] Howell, Vickii (October 6, 1999). "Sowell says he's running because Langford didn't". The Birmingham News. p. 1C. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[17] Brumas, Michael (July 30, 1999). "Hilliard: Count me out of the mayor's race". The Birmingham News. p. 1A. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[18] Pierce, Phil (January 1, 1999). "Langford won't run for B'ham mayor". The Birmingham News. p. 1B. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[19] "Ex-judge won't run for mayor". The Huntsville Times. April 27, 1999. p. B2. Retrieved August 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[20] "CITY OF BIRMINGHAM - MUNICIPAL ELECTION - OCTOBER 12, 1999" (PDF). Birmingham City Clerk. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 15, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2025.

[21] "CITY OF BIRMINGHAM - RUN-OFF ELECTION - NOVEMBER 2, 1999" (PDF). Birmingham City Clerk. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 20, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2025.

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