In a result few imagined possible a year ago, progressive Randall Woodfin took first place on Tuesday in the Birmginham mayoral election, forcing a runoff on Oct. 3 with incumbent mayor William Bell.
Woodfin, an attorney and former Birmingham school board president, won 41 percent of the vote compared to 37 percent for Bell. To outright win, a candidate needed to earn 50 plus one percent of the vote.
Bell has been in office since January 2010.
