Carole Smitherman to Take Over for Langford

Acting Birmingham Mayor Carole Smitherman

The current Mayor , the first female in Birmingham's history, will hold the position till November 24th when a new City council will be then sworn in following Langford's conviction :

Birmingham City Council President Carole Smitherman will serve as acting mayor of Birmingham until at least Nov. 24, when the newly elected city council is sworn in and a new council president is elected, city attorney Thomas Bentley said Thursday at a City Hall press conference. Smitherman became Birmingham’s first female mayor Wednesday when former mayor Larry Langford was convicted of bribery, fraud and corruption. She will cease to be mayor on Nov. 24 unless she is re-elected to the council president position.

“As many of you know, being the mayor of Birmingham has been my lifelong dream,” Smitherman said at the press conference. “In fact, two times I have sought the office. But on this day and under these circumstances I take no joy in achieving that dream, for this is yet another sad time in the history of our city.

“Our mayor Larry Langford, despite his faults, was a visionary.”

Smitherman said her first act as mayor was to go to church. She and her husband, state Sen. Rodger Smitherman (whom jokingly said she would refer to as “First Dude”), then visited the former mayor and his wife in Fairfield. Smitherman said that Langford told her he would not be returning to city hall, and would arrange for his personal belongings to be brought to him.

Smitherman said there will be no personnel changes at City Hall for the time being. Deborah Vance-Bowie, Langford’s chief of staff, will remain in her position, as will chief of operations Chris Hartsell. When asked if she would remove Steve Sayler, who served as Langford’s director of finance, Smitherman responded that a decision on that front could come soon.

“I will be making a decision about the financial affairs of the city today and tomorrow,” Smitherman said. “The decisions that I make will be first advised to the council on a one-on-one basis, and we’ll go from there.”Smitherman saidthat straightening out the city’s finances will be her first focus as mayor.

“I want to see all the numbers and reveal them to the council after a review,” Smitherman said.

Allegedly the cities numbers are in good shape, either way I wish them luck down there.