Why I am With Woodfin

Summary

Ed Fields, a marketer and strategist, is dedicating his efforts to support Randall Woodfin's campaign for Mayor of Birmingham, driven by a desire to address the city's leadership crisis and rejuvenate its potential through ethical and pragmatic leadership.

Abstract

Ed Fields expresses a deep connection to Birmingham, which has been his home since his graduation from Alabama State University. Despite a successful career, he felt compelled to join Randall Woodfin's mayoral campaign amidst a backdrop of political turmoil and a lack of effective leadership in the city. Fields describes Woodfin as a talented and ethical politician with a proven track record of service and leadership, including his role in preventing the state takeover of Birmingham City Schools and securing additional funding. He emphasizes Woodfin's quiet but assertive leadership style, his vision for the city, and his ability to inspire and unite diverse groups within the community. Fields is confident in Woodfin's capability to lead Birmingham effectively, addressing issues such as poverty, dilapidated housing, and stagnant job growth, and he calls on others to support Woodfin's campaign to bring about positive change in the city.

Opinions

Fields believes Birmingham is facing a leadership crisis, evidenced by political scandals and a lack of progress in key areas such as poverty and job growth.
He views Randall Woodfin as a special and talented politician, an architect of their generation, who has the city's best interests at heart.
Fields admires Woodfin's leadership style, describing it as pragmatic, humbly poised, and deeply committed to the city's well-being.
He is impressed by Woodfin's knowledge of Birmingham and its people, recognizing both the pain and promise within the community.
Fields is convinced that Woodfin is ready to serve as Mayor immediately and is the hungry, ethical leader that Birmingham needs for progress.
He sees Woodfin's candidacy as a movement, with widespread support from various segments of the population.
Fields' involvement in the campaign is driven by a sense of duty to his city and a belief in Woodfin's vision, rather than personal loyalty alone.
He calls for public support and assistance to ensure a successful outcome for Woodfin's campaign, emphasizing the importance of this historic race for the future of Birmingham.

Why I am With Woodfin

Originally published on LinkedIn on July 28, 2017

We finally took a moment to breath at the 2017 Magic City Classic, a few weeks after winning Birmingham’s Mayoral election.

Originally published on LinkedIn on July 28, 2017

Birmingham has been good to me. She embraced me from the moment I arrived as a new graduate of Alabama State University, allowing me to explore her geography, her history, and her humanity. I have been swaddled in the heart of Birmingham’s business and civic community for more than 15 years. And, I have been fortunate to have served so many good people on meaningful projects throughout my maturing career.

So, “Why?!!” — I was asked upon announcing my move to serve as full-time campaign manager for the Randall Woodfin for Mayor campaign — “Why enter the inferno of Birmingham politics? You are doing great, Ed. You’re safe!”

It’s true, I have been safe. But, Birmingham, in addition to its county and state has been rocked by no less than 7 years of jailed, recused, and removed politicians and their cronies. The impact in Central Alabama with its crippling poverty and zero net job growth has been felt. We are in the midst of a legitimate leadership crisis that few of us are talking about. All that said, I have chosen to embark on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do something that transcends my own career. I want to bring my city, friends, and family into a (re)new mode of leadership for our generation and generations to come. What better way to honor our ancestors and elders?

I have chosen do something, and I want your help to make it happen.

Randall Woodfin is a special guy, a talented politician and an quiet architect of our generation. Randall has served the City of Birmingham in a variety of professional roles since he finished Morehouse College in 2003. In addition, he is an elected official for the Birmingham City Schools Board where he served as president (2013 -2015) and organized a team to save our school system from state takeover and the near loss of accreditation. In addition, he led the charge to bring $8 million new dollars (annually) to the system. His leadership style resonates and attracts talent and resources to each organization he serves.

Randall is capturing the imagination of Birmingham residents from all walk of life. You need only watch this video to understand his story and his vision for returning Birmingham to its living legacy of civic excellence.

Personally, Randall has been like a younger brother to me, but my effort in the campaign goes beyond personal loyalty. For the past seventeen years, I have worked hand-in-hand with many of the brightest minds in our city and state: wealthy and poor, young and old, of all personalities and persuasions. My experience informs me — and I’m telling you — Randall is ready to serve as Mayor right now. There is virtually no urgency from the current administration; a 30% poverty rate and 10,000 dilapidated houses and no job growth is evidence that Birmingham needs a hungry, ethical leader for progress.

I have known Randall for 13 years and still find myself surprised at his brilliance and knowledge of the city; his awareness of the pain and the promise of its people. He is not flashy, his leadership style is plain vanilla, pragmatic and humbly poised. But, don’t get him twisted. Randall is a quintessential “still waters run deep” kind of guy and is as assertive as any winner I have ever met. He won’t stop working, he will not quit. His fire is igniting Birmingham this very moment. Just look at the number of people fueling his candidacy.

Randall isn’t just running to be Mayor. He is planning to be Mayor.

Lord knows, I never saw myself getting involved in politics before Randall asked me to join him in restoring pride and trust back to local government. But, this decision really was not that difficult to make. For more reasons than I can enumerate here, I am confident in our ability to win this historic race.

But, we won’t win without your help. I’m asking for your help to ensure a successful outcome for Randall on August 22. Join me in making a stand for Birmingham. We deserve better.

Originally published on LinkedIn on July 28, 2017

Ed Fields is a marketer and strategist. He currently serves as Senior Advisor and Chief Strategist for the City of Birmingham Mayor’s Office. Follow him on LinkedIn, Medium, or Twitter.