Steven L. Reed (born February 20, 1974) is an American jurist, politician, and the mayor of

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...

. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a

probate judge A probate court (sometimes called a surrogate court) is a court that has competence in a jurisdiction to deal with matters of probate and the administration of estates. In some jurisdictions, such courts may be referred to as orphans' courts o ...

Montgomery County Montgomery County may refer to: Australia * The former name of Montgomery Land District, Tasmania United Kingdom * The historic county of Montgomeryshire, Wales, also called County of Montgomery United States * Montgomery County, Alabama * Montg ...

. Reed is the first

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

mayor of Montgomery.

Early life and education

Steven L. Reed was born in

, to Joe and Mollie Reed (née Perry) as one of three children. His father, Joe, was one of the first class of elected members of the Montgomery City Council from 1975 to 1999. Reed earned a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from

Morehouse College Morehouse College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Men's colleges in the United States, men's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, ...

and a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

. Reed is a member of the

Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African-American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was founded on November 17, 1911 at Howard University. Omega Psi Phi is a founding member of ...

fraternity, having been initiated into its Theta Alpha graduate chapter in 1998.

Early career

He was a financial analyst, then changed careers and lobbied the Alabama legislature, and worked for

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Jim Folsom Jr. Reed was elected as probate judge in 2012. In February 2015, he was the first probate judge in the state of Alabama who started issuing same-sex marriage licenses after district judge Callie V. Granade struck the state's ban on same-sex marriage, defying Alabama Chief Justice

Roy Moore Roy Stewart Moore (born February 11, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer, and jurist who served as chief justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama from 2001 to 2003 and again from 2013 to 2017, each time being removed from office for judic ...

. In March 2015, after a ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court, he stopped issuing them.

Mayor of Montgomery

Reed ran for mayor of Montgomery in the 2019 election, and defeated his opponent David Woods in a runoff. He was officially sworn in as mayor on November 12, 2019. Prior to being sworn in, Reed took part in a prayer service at the historic

Dexter Avenue Baptist Church Dexter Avenue Baptist Church is a Baptist church in Montgomery, Alabama, United States, affiliated with the Progressive National Baptist Convention. The church was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1974 because of its importance i ...

, which gained notoriety at the start of the Civil rights movement for leading the

Montgomery bus boycott The Montgomery bus boycott was a political and social boycott, protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama. It was a foundational event in the civil rights movement in the United ...

. Reed ran for re-election in 2023, and defeated three opponents with 57% of the vote.

Elections

Montgomery County Probate Judge

2012 Democratic Primary

2012 General Election

2018 General Election

Montgomery Mayor

2019 First round

2019 Second round

2023 General

References

External links

Biography, Montgomery Mayor's OfficeCampaign websiteSteven L. Reed
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Steven Living people African-American mayors in Alabama Alabama Democrats Alabama state court judges Mayors of Montgomery, Alabama Probate court judges in the United States Morehouse College alumni Vanderbilt University alumni African-American judges 1974 births 21st-century mayors of places in Alabama