2009–10 Birmingham, Alabama mayoral special election

The 2009–10 Birmingham, Alabama mayoral special election was held on January 19, 2010, following a special primary election on December 8, 2009, to elect the mayor of Birmingham, Alabama. Former Mayor Larry Langford was convicted on sixty counts of bribery-related charges on October 28, 2009, and he was automatically removed from office, elevating City Council President Carole Smitherman to the role.^[1] The Birmingham Election Commission subsequently scheduled a special election.^[2]

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2009–10 Birmingham, Alabama mayoral special election

← 2007 December 8, 2009 (primary) January 19, 2010 (runoff) 2011 →

Candidate William A. Bell Patrick Cooper First round 8,758 25.05% 14,004 40.05% Runoff 25,369 53.56% 21,996 46.44%   Candidate Carole Smitherman Emory Anthony Jr. First round 6,559 18.76% 4,349 12.44%

Mayor before election Roderick Royal (acting) Nonpartisan Elected mayor William A. Bell Nonpartisan

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Smitherman announced that she would run in the special election,^[3] though on November 24, 2009, the City Council elected Roderick Royal as its new President, empowering him to replace Smitherman as acting Mayor.^[4]

Fourteen candidates ran in the special election, with County Commissioner and former interim Mayor William A. Bell, Smitherman, City Councilman Steven Hoyt, and attorneys Patrick Cooper and Emory Anthony Jr., emerging as the leading candidates. In the primary election, Cooper placed first with 40 percent, and advanced to a runoff election with Bell, who received 25 percent.^[5] In the runoff election, Bell defeated Cooper by a narrow margin, winning 54 percent of the vote to Cooper's 46 percent.^[6]