After Being Locked Out Of Office, Alabama Mayor Finally Sworn In Following Legal Battle

Patrick Braxton was elected as the first Black mayor of Newbern, Alabama.

Patrick Braxton, who was elected as the first Black mayor of Newbern, Alabama, in 2020, is finally set to officially become the mayor on Aug. 3, when he will be sworn in at 11 A.M. at Newbern City Hall.

According to the Alabama Daily News, Braxton was unaware the process would be this long and winding when he took the job.

“I didn’t know it was going to be a journey this hard to get this seat,” Braxton told the outlet.

Newbern, a tiny Alabama town with a population of around 133 people, was beset by controversy and attention when its all-white city council and mayor fought Braxton to keep hold of their positions despite the election’s outcome.

Despite the town’s Mayor Haywood “Woody” Stokes III failing to file the required paperwork to run for re-election, Stokes and the city council called a meeting to reappoint Stokes as mayor, thereby keeping Braxton out of his rightful office.

Braxton soon realized he would be in for a fight, and he recalled to the outlet, “I went to city hall and found out my keys didn’t work; they had changed the locks on the doors. That’s when I began to realize I was going to have some problems.”

District Judge Kristi DuBose signed a settlement agreement, first proposed in June, that will legally reinstate Braxton as the rightful mayor of Newbern. As it relates to Stokes and the city council, they will have to admit that they violated the Voting Rights Act and engaged in intentional discrimination.

Additionally, Braxton will appoint new members of the City Council, some of whom, like Janice Quarles, had already been approached by Braxton in 2020. Quarles told the Alabama Daily News that she was happy the saga was reaching its conclusion.

“I am just really elated, I am full of joy to see such a change and such a resolution because we have fought along with Mayor Braxton through this whole journey, and it has been a long journey for us all.”

Quarles continued, “It’s been long, it’s been hard, we’ve had disappointments, and at times it seemed as if we were forgotten, but we had a lot of legal help that stepped in and helped us to bring this whole thing to a resolution.”

Braxton told the outlet that Stokes, also a firefighter, turned into someone he didn’t know when he lost the mayorship.

“There really wasn’t any communication; both of us were on the same fire department, (but) when he realized I was the mayor, speaking just stopped; it was like he turned into a different person.”

Braxton continued, “I started running into some problems with the Fire Department because I got locked out of the Fire Department, too.”

Braxton told the outlet that some of the town’s white residents moved away as it became clear that the legal proceedings were in his favor and not Stokes.

“After May 6 when we came back from federal court in Mobile, we had five families jump up and sell their home to move out,” Braxton said. “They’re close friends with the previous mayor, and I hate to say it, (but) it’s like once the leadership changed, they decided they wanted to move.”

Regardless, Braxton remains hopeful that his vision for the community will be allowed to take shape after he is sworn in, now that his mayorship is finally freed from legal limbo.

“It took time, but the progress and the ideas that I have for this town are still going to carry on; we’re going to still carry on the vision for the town and try to make the town a better place,” Braxton said.