The recent law that regionalized the Birmingham Water Works and ended the city’s control was an unconstitutional power grab rooted in lies and cloaked in racism, according to Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin.

Speaking during the Gary Richardson Morning Show on WJLD radio, Birmingham’s mayor made some of his most detailed statements attacking changes at the water works and explaining the city’s lawsuit against the state to challenge them.

Woodfin admitted to complicated feelings about the state’s largest water utility.

“I feel the same way that the average rate payer feels. I don’t like the water works,” he told Richardson Wednesday. “My bills have been wrong as well. But two wrongs don’t make a right. What happened in Montgomery, what they did is wrong. It is a taking, and they did it with no remorse, they did it full of lies.”

The changes took effect May 7. Woodfin assailed the law ushered in by the state’s Republican legislative majority that created a new seven-member board with just two from Birmingham and the rest from the suburbs and surrounding counties.

Woodfin said lawmakers during the session gained support by exaggerating issues of corruption and mismanagement and played on racial tropes by comparing the system to Jackson, Miss. and Flint Mich.

“I take offense because that’s racist on its face because those are two majority-minority cities,” he said. “Nothing is wrong with our water.”

Republican lawmakers have called changes to the board long overdue, saying customers throughout the five-county area served by the water works lacked representation at the utility. They also cited years of poor customer service, annual rate increases and millions in consultant contracts.

The bill was sponsored by State Senator Dan Roberts, R-Mountain Brook and was carried in the House by Rep. Jim Carns of Vestavia Hills.

Birmingham’s mayor and city council responded with a federal lawsuit in Montgomery’s Middle District. Woodfin, who is also an attorney, said the city will challenge several parts of the bill as unconstitutional.

“We believe we have some strong legal ground to stand on that significant parts of it are unconstitutional on its face and violate the Alabama State Constitution,” he said.

Woodfin also challenged the new board’s configuration as un-American. Birmingham had controlled six of the nine seats on the former board but now only has two of the seven new seats.

“My biggest problem is this: I am an American, and democracy works at all levels. When you say a representation form of government it means just that,” Woodfin said.

While the water works services a five-county area, 92 percent of the customers live in Jefferson County and 44 percent of them live within the Birmingham city limits.

“I expect the board to represent the makeup of the ratepayers, and I call BS on what currently exists with the new law,” Woodfin said. “It was just a straight taking.”

Woodfin called for solidarity as the city fights the law in court.

“We need to be working together to fight them because they’re working their plan,” Woodfin said. “You think those new five people appointed care about the citizens or ratepayers of Birmingham? I don’t think so. That’s who I’m fighting for.”