Birmingham held elections for many of its municipal positions Tuesday which ended in a surprise to some: incumbent William Bell will face former school board president Randall Woodfin in a runoff on October 3 to determine who will become Birmingham’s next Mayor.

With 99% of precincts reporting, Woodfin won 41% of the vote while Bell was able to garner enough votes to force a run off, capturing 37% of the vote.

Woodfin (36) was pleased with the results, acknowledging that citizens of Birmingham are in dire need of a change of leadership. As reported by AL.com Woodfin said,

“We committed to engaging voters across this entire city, all 99 neighborhoods for the last 12 months. I think the voters have spoken. They want change. They want responsive government. They want a mayor who believes in service leadership.”

In a recent Huffington Post article, author Daniel Marans said: “Woodfin sees himself as part of a new generation of liberal leaders sweeping to power in Southern cities.” Obviously, many Birmingham residents agreed.

The race for Birmingham’s top official became heated in the final weeks. Many candidates accused Bell of wasting tax dollars and not adequately addressing the issue of crime within the city limits. Bell replaced the previous mayor Larry Langford after a special election in 2009, and he’s no stranger to runoffs. Bell trailed Patrick Cooper in the 2010 general election but won 54% of the vote in the runoff. Bell seemed optimistic about the runoff, as he was quoted in an AL.com story as saying:

“I want to congratulate Mr. Woodfin on a well-run race, and I look forward to debating the issues and to showing the progress we have made in the last seven and a half years.”

Both candidates are looking forward to the runoff, pledging to play to their strengths and continue to campaign as they have since the race began.