MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama State Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, has announced her candidacy for Birmingham mayor.
“It’s time for change in Birmingham, it’s unacceptable that the conditions are the way they are,” Givan told Alabama Daily News on Wednesday.
Making the announcement at a press conference in Birmingham, Givan said she felt compelled to run due to the city’s high rate of violent crime, lack of housing, and littered streets and dilapidated homes. She also said her campaign would be centered around what she called the “three Ps: people, protection and progress.”
“I was called to run, there’s a calling on me to run and to be a voice for those who cannot be voices for themselves,” she told ADN. “The city of Birmingham is filthy; trash, potholes, no resurfaced streets, (and) the crime is so beyond anyone’s belief, higher than it was even in 1933.”
Givan has been vocal in the past about Birmingham’s violent crime, particularly gun violence, and has supported a number of gun reform proposals and public safety initiatives, including hiring more Birmingham police officers, of which there remains a shortage of.
The rate of gun deaths in Alabama has been on the rise, increasing by 54% between 2012 and 2021 compared to the national rate of 39%. According to the Jefferson County Coroner and Medical Examiner’s Office, there were 104 gun homicides in the county from January through September 2024.
The incumbent, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, is currently serving his second term, and has signaled a likely run for a third term. Givan said her campaign would focus solely on her priorities, to reduce crime and clean the city, and declined to speak on Woodfin’s performance as mayor.
“When I run my races, I don’t even mention my opponents,” she said.
Givan has represented Birmingham in the Alabama House since 2010. She made an unsuccessful bid for Alabama’s newly drawn 2nd Congressional District in 2024, but remains active in the legislature, pre-filing 12 bills for the upcoming 2025 legislative session that starts Feb. 4, and serving as the ranking minority member on the House committees for fiscal responsibility and campaigns and elections.
The Birmingham mayoral race is nonpartisan, and is scheduled for Aug. 26, 2025. Were no candidate to receive a majority of the vote, a runoff may be scheduled between the two highest-polling candidates.