I must be the only one in this state who knows what democracy is.
That was the defeatist mantra looping in my head every time an adult told me their vote did not count. As if that was reason not to vote at all.
All my life I have been a blue dot in a sea of red, trying to stay above the surface when hit with rejection about my hopes for the future. In the deep South, politics are more of consensus than conversation. I tried to avoid making waves.
However, I was wrong. My home city of Birmingham, Alabama, is a lot like me, it contrasts with its counterparts. I was perplexed by how someone had bridged the gap, but I understood as soon as I met him: Birmingham’s Mayor, Randall Woodfin.
Mayor Woodfin walked coolly into the auditorium, facing a couple dozen teenagers ready to raise their hands. The students had the courage to inquire about their futures, and Mayor Woodfin had the responsibility of answering them.
“If we put policemen on every street corner, there would be the same amount of shootings. Why? Because shootings happen in places police can’t be.”
He had a different vision for Birmingham grounded in newer, more successful policies based in understanding. He knew the root cause of shootings was not policing but instead about conflict resolution. About how systemic inequality had caused a chronic illness for the people of Birmingham. Instead of treating the symptoms, Woodfin searched for its determinant.
The following summer, I joined his campaign team for the upcoming election. Canvassing by his side, I saw how he met people at their doorsteps, taking time to accompany them in their struggle and working to address their needs. The people of Birmingham responded to his accessible and responsive administration, electing him by a landslide.
Above all, he showed me that politics in Alabama matters because the people in Alabama matter. He never disregarded someone based on a party. He listened to their problems and handled them: fixing a sewer, school system, and everything in between. Inspired by his people-focused, action-oriented approach, I founded In the Running, a podcast in which my co-host and I interview people running for local office. Through our conversations, we help citizens get informed about candidates, enough to feel that their vote matters. Mayor Woodfin was quick to be interviewed and show two teenage girls that their voice mattered, too.
Mayor Woodfin will remain an anchor for my leadership philosophy: to serve people, not parties. Maybe one day we will be a nation of Mayor Woodfins that can afford the time to slow down and see each other fully- the complexities of our identity and the homogeneity of our needs- and operate from common ground. Mayor Woodfin makes the people of Birmingham believe they matter, and because of him I will fight to ensure everyone has a seat at the table.