Randall Woodfin

Randall Woodfin

(Bob Farley)

By Randall Woodfin, a candidate for mayor of Birmingham

We have knocked on over 50,000 doors and made 40,000 phone calls to Birmingham residents. You expressed that you wanted a mayor who could work with the Council, revitalize our neighborhoods, fight crime, and restore trust in City Hall. As a result, my campaign created a comprehensive agenda that was truly inspired by you and your belief that you deserved better.

We are less than a week away from Election Day, and many supporters and critics are asking how we can possibly implement this robust agenda?

Because you deserve to know how we plan to move our city forward, and how we plan to accomplish this goal, I want to offer a glimpse into my transition that will set the tone for my Administration.

The day after my inauguration, we will announce the Mayor's Office of Transition. This office will conduct reviews of every city department and make recommendations on implementing the Woodfin Plan. The Office of Transition will have its own website where residents, nonprofits and businesses can submit comments on the way city agencies can improve our engagement with you.

Step two in the transition will be the work of citizen-led transition committees. Each committee will be staffed by local experts and citizens who will review the public comments and departmental reviews, conduct field hearings in the community, and make recommendations to the Office of Transition for each department.

Voters also deserve to know the priorities my Administration will pursue during my first 100 days. My first day in office will be dedicated to rebuilding your faith in City Hall. For Birmingham to reach its full potential, every citizen must trust that their elected officials have their best interests at heart.

On my first day in office, I will launch Operation Trust Restored - a comprehensive strategy to clean and open up city finances. This initiative will begin with three transformative changes that will alter the current way business is done at City Hall.

Audit. As a first priority, the Woodfin Administration will conduct a full, independent audit of all city expenditures to identify any fraud and abuse in City spending that occurred under the Bell Administration. Wasteful spending will be identified and contracts that do not clearly benefit the people of Birmingham will be immediately canceled.

Transparency. The finances of the City of Birmingham belong to the people of Birmingham, but under the current administration, uncovering how city money is spent is often complicated. If citizens or the media come to City Hall to obtain information, it should be easily provided to them. To remedy this, all future expenditures of the city will be posted on the internet, similar to the process used by the State of Alabama, so that anyone can assess them at any time.

Eliminating Nepotism. Under the Woodfin Administration, the city will implement tougher policies to prevent any immediate family member from being able to influence the city procurement process. At no time should a close relative of the mayor or other elected leaders be able to determine who gets contracts with the city. Contract decisions should be made based on qualifications, price, and other legitimate criteria that benefit the city.

In an effort to boost city employee morale and performance, we will also launch listening tours with employees of each city department. I believe that City Hall will only go as far as our employees take it, so I want to hear from you and find ways we can work together to make Birmingham the best version of itself.

After our inauguration, we will take steps to restructure the Office of the Mayor. William Bell currently has a staff of 101 people, larger than some of the country's most populated cities. We will reduce the size of the Mayor's Office and reallocate those resources to the Police Department and Public Works employees for neighborhood revitalization.

I am optimistic about the future of our great city. We must implement an all hands on deck approach if we want to renew our commitment to openness and transparency, and tackle the many challenges that are plaguing our city.

I am excited to write the next chapter of Birmingham's history with the families and small businesses that helped shape my campaign. You have made it clear that you expect more from the Mayor's Office, and I aim to deliver that leadership to you.

Birmingham, let's get to work.

AL.com invited each of Birmingham's remaining mayoral candidates to submit one guest column prior to the Oct. 3 runoff election.