With friends like Randall Woodfin the Birmingham workforce doesn’t need enemies
The run-off election for Birmingham mayor has been a brutal one. Alabama Today has covered stories on both candidates. Interestingly I’ve noticed a trend, when we or anyone covers or questions, Randall Woodfin, he and his supporters cry “fake news.” I’ve seen Woodfin supporters claim he’s the victim of media bias or “fake news” more often in the last month than Donald Trump has in his lifetime. What’s not “fake news” is Woodfin’s comments on Birmingham’s bid to land the second Amazon HQ. A project that could bring up to 50,000 jobs and spur infrastructure growth and investments in transit, education and housing prices. While mayors all around the region welcome Bell and the city of Birmingham’s efforts to attract Amazon, Woodfin is among the naysayers who believe the city shouldn’t even try for the project. According to AL.Com Woodfin said: “Greater Birmingham has experienced zero job growth since 2000 and 30 percent of our population is living in poverty,” he said in a statement. “Rather than propose a comprehensive economic development strategy, William Bell is delivering textbook election-year politics. Impulsively chasing projects as they come is not strategy. “Birmingham has not made the adequate investments in public safety, workforce development, or public transportation over the course of Bell’s seven year tenure to give us a real chance at landing a company like Amazon. This is not leadership, just the typical grandstanding from Bell.” First, Woodfin is wrong about the job growth. Something he should know and shouldn’t spread false information about. According to an article by the Birmingham Business Journal, “The Birmingham economy continues to improve steadily, but still has room to improve.” They cite an analysis by Porter White & Co. investment banker Michael Stone. According to the BBJ, “Stone looked at five key economic factors to gauge the health of the local economy: total employment, retail sales, occupational tax, electricity sales and airline boardings.” The city saw a 1.1 percent increase in total employment as of June 30, 5.3 percent growth in retail sales, 3 percent growth in occupational tax, 1.4 percent growth in airline boarding and a decrease in electricity sales of 4.8 percent. Despite seeing growth four of the five categories, Stone said the Birmingham metro has still not quite recovered from the Great Recession as measured by number of persons employed pre- and post-recession. He goes on to say, Porter White‘s analysis shows Birmingham is being outpaced by several Southern metros, including Austin, Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh, Nashville and Huntsville. “Growth in jobs is the most important economic indicator,” Stone said in his Birmingham Area Economic Report. “Job growth leads to increased family income, in-migration of population, larger tax revenues without increasing tax rates, and economic well being. Preferably new jobs are well paid, in stable industries, and generated by businesses with good and stable market position.” Birmingham’s retail performance offers a brighter outlook. “Retail sales are important in Alabama as a sign of economic activity and an important source of governmental revenue from sales taxes,” he said. “For the recent 12 month period, Alabama, as well as Jefferson County and Birmingham MSA, have outpaced the rate of growth of the U.S., using personal consumption of durable and non-durable goods (omitting personal services) as the analog for U.S. sales.” On top of the misstatement on Birmingham’s economy there are plenty of people on Mayor Bell’s side to promote the city nationally in an effort to land a project that what would be an incredible opportunity statewide. Editorials have been published throughout the city including this one by Micheal Tomberlin, “Why not Birmingham for Amazon’s Second Headquarters?”, and Russell Hooks of Happens’ in the Ham says, “World class and innovative healthcare may be Birmingham’s key to Amazon’s new HQ.” Even a reporter at the Washingtonian believes that Birmingham warrants serious consideration. So the question I have for the day is why does someone who wants to be our mayor not believe in our city and what’s worse? Even if he didn’t believe in the future of our city, as he professes so passionately every chance he gets, why would he go on record in a way that could ultimately hurt our chances? With friends like Woodfin speaking out on our Amazon bid who needs enemies?
Randall Woodfin’s secret partnership with convicted thieves raises major ethical questions.
Mayoral Candidate Randall Woodfin has spent the last year promoting his personal and professional resume in his quest to become mayor. He has promoted every detail from his high school days to working with the Botanical Garden and everything in between. So why did he leave out that for the last seven years he has been a leading board member of a company that entitles him to a share of 25 percent of that company’s profits? According to Secretary of State records, on November 29, 2011 Woodfin became a board member of a new company named Caldwell Holdings. According to these documents, he, as said board member, would be entitled to a share of 25 percent of the company’s profits. At the time Woodfin was 29 years old and his resume indicates no prior executive experience. His time on this board and any mention of it, is also glaringly missing from his biography on his campaign website and could not be located in any previous mentions of his professional experience. A closer look at Caulfield Holdings reveals many significant issues with this partnership. Caulfied holdings is owned by Kelli Caulfield and her mother Gayle Cunningham, who also serves as a board member alongside Woodfin. The same two women later found themselves at the center of a massive scheme to defraud the children of the Birmingham area through stealing over $500,000 from the city’s Head Start program. U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard D. Schwein Jr. issued a statement that highlighted the costs of the theft saying, “Gayle Cunningham was able to steal money intended to help some of the most vulnerable members of our community because she traded on her long tenure at JCCEO to receive broad discretionary powers from its board. She and her daughter exploited that authority to steal nearly a half million dollars from the agency. As a result, training programs lagged, Head Start buses were not replaced, and classroom computers were running on obsolete, unsupported operating systems. Prison is deserved for this type of abuse of trust and misuse of federal funds.” As a self-declared champion for children, one would think Randall Woodfin would have decried these actions so callously laid out by law enforcement. “I just want to ask the court for mercy,” the article says then-Birmingham Board of Education President Woodfin told the judge. Woodfin asked that if there had to be some form of incarceration, that it be home confinement. But the question remains, why would Randall Woodfin get involved in a case where Head Start money — money for little kids– was stolen? Especially since he was president of the Birmingham School Board at the time. According to court documents, Cunningham and Caulfield bought multiple properties in Jefferson and Shelby Counties. Cunningham and Caulfield used Head Start money to make mortgage payments, pay property taxes, and make repairs to the homes they had bought, robbing our children of their pre-k funds. Birmingham City School Board President, Woodfin testified on the behalf of these criminals, but never bothered to disclose that he is a board member for Caulfield’s company. Again, as a board member, he profited a portion of 25 percent of the company’s proceeds. Through out the trial and even after Cunningham and Caulfield were convicted —Cunningham was ultimately sentenced to two years in prison and had to pay paid $492,195 in restitution. Meanwhile, her daughter, Caulfield, was sentenced to eight months home confinement and supervised probation — Woodfin never spoke out about this secret partnership. He even failed to disclose this financial relationship on his annual ethics forms — a clear violation of state law. All of these documents are public record and they show a troubling trend for Randall Woodfin. How do you condone and defend your business partners stealing money from pre-k children — literally as investigators pointed out taking away books, supplies and computers of the most innocent citizens? These are questions that voters will have to ask themselves and Woodfin prior to election day. Alabama Today has reached out to the Woodfin campaign for comment and will update accordingly pending response.
Supporters of Birmingham mayoral candidate Randall Woodfin speak up
With only three weeks to go until the runoff election in the Birmingham mayoral race, it’s safe to say — it’s become a slugfest. This is far from surprising to anyone who has even casually followed the bitter race between incumbent Mayor William Bell and attorney and former Birmingham school board president Randall Woodfin in the past two weeks since the Aug. 22 primary. Supporters of both candidates have actively taken blows at one another attempting to discredit their opponent. Last week, supporters of Bell — two students and a member of the Birmingham school board — posted two Facebook videos in an effort to a light on their personal experiences with Woodfin, speaking out again his actions whilst he served as President of the Birmingham school board. One video, called into question an incident with Woodfin in which school board member Cheri Gardner recounts that he challenged her to a physical fight. In the other video, two Ramsay High school alums also took to Facebook to describe their personal experiences with Woodfin, calling into question his decision-making ability On Wednesday, Woodfin met with his own supporters to rally and encourage them in final weeks of the campaign. After speaking to the crowd, his supporters spoke up for him. “This isn’t a tug of war. This is war. And you see how the enemy plays right now. To assassinate your character, to come against you and your volunteers,” said a Woodfin supporter in the video. “This city has been divided because of this election, and it should never be that.” Directed at Woodfin, he continued, “Our goal, my goal, for this campaign, is that you sit in that seat on October 3. But it’s critical. This a critical time in the history of Birmingham, Alabama. We can either lead the world or we can fall behind and I think we’ll do well if you’re leading the charge. Watch the video below: Woodfin faces Bell at the polls Oct. 3.
Students, parents and school board member speak out against Randall Woodfin
A lot has been said about experience in the race for Birmingham Mayor. In two new videos, students and a member of the Birmingham school board shine a light on their personal experiences with Randall Woodfin speaking about his time and actions serving as President of the Birmingham school board. While the hard facts speak for themselves, information like the Alabama State Board of Education noting the number for failing schools tripled while he was President and three different superintendents were hired and fired over the same period, these post go beyond facts and figures though and point to the personal side of Woodfin’s tenure. It all started last Monday when a voter posted on Facebook asking if anyone on the Birmingham Board of Education would share how Woodfin, also BOE member, got “along with them.” Fellow school board member Cheri Gardner was quick to respond. “I have worked with him for the last three and half years as a board member. I have known him for many more. I have always held him in high regard. It was only after l started to work with him as a board member did l truly meet the real person,” Gardner wrote in a Facebook comment. “What I learned is that he lies effortlessly. He is manipulative. Likes to [point] his finger in folks faces. Has tantrums when he doesn’t get his way. He has even challenged me into a physical fight. I will only speak for myself but hopefully others will see this and are willing to share their experiences.” The following day, Carlos Chaverst Jr., a local activist and Political Strategist at Touch Communications, sat down with Gardner for a Facebook live video to dive deeper into her accusations against Woodfin, probing her on the timing of her post and asking whether or not incumbent mayor William Bell paid her to write it Gardner explained she only said what she did, when she did because someone had stopped and asked the question. “If the post had not been there and no one ever asked me, I would not have said anything because I really didn’t want to get into the mayor’s race,” said Gardner. As to whether or not Bell paid her to write anything, “absolutely not. I have never been paid by any political candidate to do anything.” Then on Sept. 10, two Ramsay High school alums, Robyn Gulley, a sophomore are Birmingham Southern College and Joshua, a current UAB student, also took to Facebook to recount their personal experiences with Woodfin. They spoke of a time in 2014, when their high school principal Dr. Evelyn Nettles was placed on administrative leave for unknown reasons. The two go on to explain the timing was questionable as students were about to start AP tests and final exams and students needed to focus on performing well. When Woodfin, the president of the school board at the time, came to visit the school and put students at ease, Gulley claims he did the opposite. “Throughout the time he was talking to us I never felt a sense of genuineness and if it kind of hurt us in the end, it didn’t matter,” she said. Nettles herself took to the comments section to speak out against Woodfin. Good. Randall did nothing but try to sell out kids,” commented Nettles. In a second video, both students voiced their outright support for Bell. “Vote William A. Bell October 3, 2017,” the students said in unison. The comment sections to the videos, posted together on Facebook, reveal parents who share similar frustrations with Woodfin and his actions on the board: Rather than address the videos or comments on his actions, Woodfin instead blamed the Bell campaign. Woodfin faces Bell again at the polls Oct. 3.
