Birmingham Mayor William Bell last week won reelection for another two years, handily besting five challengers with 88.9% of the vote.
He became mayor in early 2010 after winning a special election to replace ex-Mayor Larry Langford, who was removed from office after he was found guilty on federal pay-to-play charges stemming from his time as president of the Jefferson County Commission, where he orchestrated the refinancing of now-defaulted sewer bonds.
Bell’s reelection was for a partial, two-year term. He will have to run again in 2013 in order to serve a full four years. The shortened schedule is designed to coordinate the mayor’s election with that of the City Council.
