Mayor Larry Paul Langford passes away at age 72
Larry Paul Langford, 72, who served as the mayor of Birmingham from 2007 to 2009, passed away peacefully among family on Jan. 8, 2019. Mayor Langford will be remembered as a visionary who constantly worked to transform potential into promise.
Mayor Langford grew up in the Loveman Village public housing in Titusville. He graduated from Parker High School in 1965. Langford would serve five years in the U.S. Air Force and later attend the University of Alabama at Birmingham, receiving a bachelor of arts degree in social and behavioral sciences in 1972. While enrolled there, he worked at WBRC as one of the nation’s first black television reporters.
Langford was elected to the Birmingham City Council in 1977 and two years later made an unsuccessful bid for the city’s mayoral seat. But in 1982, he moved to Fairfield. He became that city’s first black mayor in 1988.
Under his leadership, his office increased the city’s sales tax, which he would later use to support the struggling Fairfield City Schools. A vocal advocate for social conservatism and open government, Langford gained notoriety for his outspoken views and willingness to take action – whether challenging the Jefferson County Committee for Economic Opportunity’s practice of holding closed meetings or chasing a pair of purse snatchers near Fairfield City Hall.
Perhaps Langford’s most well-known achievement was helping to form the West Jefferson Amusement Authority to finance construction and operation of Bessemer’s $60 million Visionland amusement park in 1998. The park was later sold and reopened as Alabama Adventure.
After four terms as Fairfield mayor, Langford was elected to the Jefferson County Commission in 2002 and was named president soon after. In his role as Commissioner of Health and Human Services, Langford created the Jefferson Metropolitan Health Care Authority as well as helped with the renovation of Cooper Green Mercy Hospital.
In 2007, Langford successfully ran for the office of mayor in Birmingham, fueled by the campaign slogan, “Let’s Do Something.” Ever the visionary, Langford proposed the construction of a domed football stadium, retro-style trolleys to assist with mass transit, a canal from the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway to allow cruise ships to dock in the city and advocated for the city to host the 2020 Olympics. Several of those ideas are taking shape today, with the approval of an open-air stadium in downtown Birmingham and the Magic City serving as host of the 2021 World Games.
Langford is survived by his wife, Melva; son, Ronald Strothers; niece, Lena Powe McDonald; brother, Oliver Nance; sister-in-law, Casi Ferguson; grandchildren, Ronald Strothers III and Jared Daniel Strothers; and a host of other nieces, nephews, friends and supporters. His legacy will always be one of innovation, boldness and creativity.
