Birmingham elections: This defining time calls for defining leadership

This is an opinion column.

This might be easier than trying to digest and dissect the scrum of folks vying for public office in Birmingham: Who’s

not

running?

Thirty-eight names will be on the ballot on August 26th,

all seeking to serve (key word, write it down) city residents through the next four years as members of the Birmingham School Board or City Council. Or as mayor.

Thirty-eight people striving to lead (key word No. 2, write it down).

That’s far less than the 68 people who

sought to occupy the 19 offices in 2021

, yet it’s still a crowd. Still enough to require a single-spaced scorecard.

Some of the names are familiar — either because they’re incumbents, or they occasionally make headlines cawing for a cause, or because they run for office so often the registrar’s on speed-dial.

Some are young — barely old enough to solicit voters at local hydration spots. A few are seasoned and marinated by life.

It takes grit to run for public office, to subject yourself (especially your flaws) to public scrutiny. To dissection. To ridicule. So, I applaud each person on the ballot. May the best …

Voters choose for varied reasons. Some purposeful, some petty. Some thoughtful, some thoughtless. Some based on ideas, platforms and strategies; some based on whether you remember my name from high school or returned my call.

Or gave me a job.

It’s a critical time for Birmingham. At the start of the year, the city was choked by gun violence. As of July 21, homicides are down 55.8% relative to deadly 2024 — 42 compared with 95 at the same time last year, according to Birmingham Police Department stats. Saving lives — especially young lives — by continuing to invest time, talent, money and love in effective strategies, programs and people is imperative and should remain atop the agenda of anyone seeking to lead in this city.

Now, too, there must be further commitments to:

• 
  Elevating, educating and inspiring our children
  
• 
  Ensuring families in
  
  every
  
  neighborhood have access to quality health care, food, transportation and recreation
  
• 
  Creating jobs and business paths that fulfill career and entrepreneurial dreams
  
• 
  Spurring economic development and restoration, particularly in areas seemingly forgotten (i.e., the Civil Rights district) or ignored (will someone finally have the temerity to do
  
  something
  
  with Legion Field?!)
  
• 
  Addressing homelessness (for real)
  
• 
  Repairing streets, bridges and whatever aging frights lie underground, and blight
  

Campaign attacks are expected. Those seeking to unseat incumbents must throw stones to rock the system, to lure those who believe their needs and desires have not been met.

Or who didn’t get a return call. Or a job.

Now, about a month and change out front the election, forget the noise, the postulating and catchy slogans. None of them will make Birmingham great.

Leadership will. Only leadership.

So, while pondering your picks, I challenge you, Birmingham voters, to ask yourselves two questions:

What is leadership?

Who on the ballot best exhibits those qualities?

Those qualities needed for Birmingham to navigate this precarious corner and position the preponderance of residents to not just survive, but thrive?

As a primer, here are a few thoughts on leadership that I respect:

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” — John F. Kennedy

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” —

John C. Maxwell

, author, speaker and pastor

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” —

John Quincy Adams

, the sixth president of the United States

“We don’t need a title to lead. We just need people to care. We would rather follow a leader with a heart than a leader with a title.” —

Craig Groeschel

, founding and senior pastor of Life Church

You gotta love this one, in light of, well, I’ll just leave it right there:

“Leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders.” –

Tom Peters

, business consultant and author

In my journey, I’ve been surrounded by and learned from great leaders, as well as some who showed me how

not

to lead. Collectively, they helped shape me and, I pray, the type of leader I hope to have been.

The best among them possessed three traits: integrity, vision, and humility. Not even two out of three cut it for me.

Beyond those qualities, here are my six thoughts on true leaders:

Leaders know what they don’t know and surround themselves with those who do

.

Leaders listen.

Leaders don’t need 20/20 vision to see what others don’t.

Leaders are willing to take risks — and the fall.

Leaders don’t intimidate; they inspire.

Leaders communicate, collaborate, cooperate, compartmentalize and commit — they don’t control.

How do you define leadership? Share it with me at [email protected].

And pray true leaders arise from the scrum.

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Roy S. Johnson

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Let’s be better tomorrow than we are today. My column appears on

AL.com

, and digital editions of The Birmingham News, Huntsville Times, and Mobile Press-Register. Tell me what you think at

[email protected]

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twitter.com/roysj

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