Carole Smitherman now Mayor of Birmingham (Comments about Langford=hurl)

The Birmingham News (al.com) ^ | October 28, 2009 | Joseph D. Bryant

[UAConservative]

Carole Smitherman is now the city's mayor following the conviction of Larry Langford.

Smitherman, who had served as the City Council president, will meet with city employees Thursday morning.

She's already been in contact with Langford Chief of Staff Deborah Vance-Bowie and also plans to talk to Langford.

"I have a very heavy heart right now for the city of Birmingham, our employees and the people of the city of Birmingham," Smitherman said. "My heart goes out to Mayor Langford. History will certainly be kind to him as a progressive mayor who loved this city and its people."

[awelliott]

Good riddance to another corrupt scam artist who has bankrupted everything he has ever touched and played the race card at every turn...

[carolina71]

Doesn’t matter who replaces who — they’re all corrupt cronies.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

You mean that when they jailed Al Capone organized crime didn’t end? I’m shocked.

[6ppc]

Over the last two decades LaLa left a path of financial destruction in his wake.

As mayor of Fairfield AL he managed to con local city and Jefferson County into contributing toward the building and support of Visionland (a cheap knockoff of Six Flags). Built for $100 million, just three or four years later (after he had left office) it was bankrupt and sold to a private company for $5 million.

As president of the Jefferson County Commission he conned the commission into converting billions of dollars of fixed rate sewer bonds into variable rate bonds. After he was elected mayor of Birmingham and left the Jefferson County Commission the variable rates started going up leading to the de-facto bankruptcy of Jefferson County. This saga is still going on with JeffCo now two years into dithering about how to handle it.

As mayor of Birmingham he proposed Birmingham make a bid for the 2020 Olympics (ROTFLMAO!). He also “broke ground” for a domed stadium which is unlikely to ever become a reality. Luckily for Birmingham he was convicted less than a year after that ground breaking, so perhaps this boondoggle will collapse before too much money is stolen.

LaLa’s career has followed a pattern of big ideas and major financial commitments followed in every case by his moving on to another political office before the chickens come home to roost.