Scenes of Mayor Randall Woodfin celebrating with Jefferson County Commissioners at the groundbreaking for Protective Stadium in downtown Birmingham six years ago were hailed as marks of regional collaboration after years of tension and rivalry between the area’s largest governments.

Those smiles have since faded, replaced by a lawsuit, political finger-pointing, and accusations from Woodfin that county officials have a political vendetta against the city.

“…Partisan politics has gotten in the way of good policies,” Woodfin said. “The majority of those county commissioners are not acting in the good faith of the city.”

Separated only by Linn Park, the greenspace between Birmingham City Hall and the Jefferson County Courthouse once represented a wall of political, demographic, and ideological differences between the local governments.

Until recently, Woodfin celebrated the dismantling of that wall to bring collaboration — and joint financing — for seminal projects such as Protective Stadium, the World Games, and the recruitment of the USFL football league.

But a recent fight over whether the city can house inmates at county jail has strained relations. Since then, barriers between the two governments are putting new projects in peril, Woodfin said. He accused the county of intentionally stalling projects within the city, describing the snub as “spite, wrong and evil.”

Jimmie Stephens, the commission president, dismissed the notion that the county is playing politics with Birmingham. He said the commission makes decisions and investments based on the potential for economic return.

Stephens said doesn’t mind taking the political jabs from Woodfin and offered a few of his own.

“He’s chosen to utilize his tax dollars somewhere besides taking care of his jail and we’ve decided to utilize our tax dollars somewhere instead of taking care of economic development in Birmingham – same thing.”

Woodfin in an interview with AL.com complained that the commission had not provided economic development incentives for two major economic projects: Consolidated Pipe’s plans to build its corporate headquarters in Birmingham and R&L Carriers’ plan to expand in the city.

The Birmingham City Council approved incentives for Consolidated Pipe in October of 2023 that total more than $591,000 to support 100 new jobs.

In Sept. 2022, the city approved selling 67.4 acres in the Daniel Payne Industrial Park for $3.7 million to R & L Carriers to build a 130-door transportation terminal at the site. The company closed on the property in November 2023. Birmingham also approved property tax abatements and sales and use tax abatements totaling $1.96 million to support 50 new jobs.

The county commission on Thursday approved $105,000 in incentives for R&L Carriers. The agreement for incentives would support the creation of new jobs averaging $52,000 a year over the next three years.

County officials remain in talks with Consolidated Pipe over unspecified incentives that may come before the commission in March.

Cornell Wesley, Birmingham’s director of Innovation and Economic Opportunity, stressed the urgency of governmental cooperation in supporting business development.

“These projects have significant investments at stake and require the county’s approval to move forward,” he said. “Delaying or stalling a vote on these projects due to unrelated issues not only impacts the companies involved, but also tarnishes the reputation of the county and city in the eyes of developers.”

The mayor calls it a political vendetta.

“And they are smooth with it,” Woodfin said. “If they don’t call it up for a vote, then you can’t say it is political.”

Stephens noted that the county has supported major projects in Birmingham. But he said the county has limited funds and that commissioners prioritize investments in communities with fewer resources than Birmingham.

“It’s much more cost effective for us to distribute money in unincorporated Jefferson County than it is within the city of Birmingham,” he said. “There are some areas that we are partnered with and will continue to partner with Birmingham on our projects. But right now we need to figure out ways to get along and work together. Instead of figuring out ways to talk at each other, we need to talk to each other.”

The feud has intensified in recent weeks over the political fight surrounding the county jail.

Woodfin has accused Jefferson County Sheriff Mark Pettway and leaders on the commission of unfairly blocking the city’s use of the county jail. He sued the sheriff Feb. 2.

Woodfin is asking a judge to order the county to sign required state forms and accept inmates from the city. Stephens and other commissioners said the city had the same opportunities to upgrade its own jail but squandered the chance and is not trying to force the burden on the county.

“The only issue that we have is for them not taking care of their jail and wanting to utilize their tax dollars on something that would be contrary to what the county would need,” Stephens said. “They receive the same dollars that we do, and more so, to take care of their jail. They just chose not to spend money on their jail and it has created a crisis. And now they want to transfer their crisis to Jefferson County.”

The mayor’s toughest criticism is reserved for the Republicans on the commission, rather than Pettway, a Democrat. Woodfin alleges the commissioners hamstring Pettway.

Pettway has declined to discuss the politics or the pending litigation between the city and his office.

“Our attorneys will present our position in court from a law enforcement perspective,” said David Agee, the sheriff’s deputy chief “Right now our concentration is on fighting crime in Jefferson County.”

Woodfin accused Commissioner Mike Bolin, the county’s chair of economic development, of leading the charge against the city.

In an interview with AL.com, Bolin denied an anti-Birmingham agenda or a plot to kill projects based in the city.

Bolin, a Vestavia Hills resident who notes his roots in Birmingham, said he was elected to represent the interests of the entire county.

“If something helps Birmingham then it helps Jefferson County,” Bolin said. “I don’t have any animus toward Birmingham or the mayor.”

Bolin said he does not know Woodfin and the two have never officially met.

“When we do get the opportunity to talk, he’s got to understand that I am only one vote,” Boin said. “I want to work with him in any way possible, but I will be firm if I think he’s doing anything to the detriment of the good citizens of all of Jefferson County.”

Bolin said the city is wrong in its attempt to force the county to house Birmingham inmates at the county’s expense.

He also cited the county’s $1.8 million support for a major YMCA project in east Birmingham, funding that the commission approved earlier this month. Jefferson County is using federal money from the American Rescue Plan to bridge the gap in funding for the residential and community engagement initiative.

“I’m not mad at anybody,” Bolin said. “We’re all human beings and not going to agree on everything.”

Woodfin said the city has just a single friend on the commission.

“Sheila Tyson has been good to the city,” Woodfin said of his longtime political ally. “She has admonished her colleagues for not acting in good faith, and they have not acted in good faith.”

Tyson told AL.com that the bitter feelings between Woodfin and the commission stem from the jail dispute.

“I feel like they should have come together and gone to a space where they both could have settled on a price,” Tyson said. “When you get grown men in a political fight the people suffer every time.”

Tyson confirmed that Birmingham projects have slowed since the dispute.

“I don’t know if it’s punishment or whether or not they’re trying to flex their muscles,” she said. “I am trying to be the mediator between both sides and find reasons where both parties can be satisfied. I am hoping we can work this out because the people of Jefferson County mean more to me than two parties fighting.”

Dustups between the city and county are nothing new, said Natalie Davis, professor emerita of political science at Birmingham-Southern College and a longtime Birmingham political observer.

“I don’t think it has ever gone away,” Davis said. “They see this all in zero-sum gains. ‘If you win, I lose,’ and then it’s really hard to come up with something they all salute because at the end they’re all running for reelection.”

Davis said those conflicts are usually settled after both sides find a resolution that gives both sides a political win.

“When they both see it in their own self-interest, things click,” she said. “You just have to know where the pressure point is.”