For the first time in decades, residents of Newbern, Alabama, went to the polls, and they delivered a resounding victory to Patrick Braxton, the town’s first Black mayor who was once barred from office.
Braxton won Tuesday’s contest with 66 votes against challenger Laird Cole’s 26, according to official tallies. His win settles a yearslong dispute over who rightfully leads the town of 133 residents, a fight that drew national headlines after Braxton was locked out of town hall following his uncontested 2020 run.
“The people came out and spoke and voted. Now, there ain’t no doubt what they want for this town,” Braxton said in a phone interview Wednesday night.
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The election, held under a federal settlement, marked Newbern’s first since at least the 1960s. Black residents had sued, arguing the town had operated under a “hand-me-down governance” system that excluded them from leadership. For decades, mayors simply appointed their successors and handpicked council members, resulting in an overwhelmingly white government even though Black residents outnumber white residents two to one.
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Braxton, a volunteer firefighter, sought to change that in 2020 when he filed to run for mayor. Unopposed, he automatically became mayor-elect and appointed a new council, just as his predecessors had done. But the response from the sitting officials was swift: the locks at town hall were changed, access to financial records was denied, and, according to Braxton’s lawsuit, outgoing members secretly reconvened to reappoint themselves.
“I didn’t get a chance to serve but one year out of the five years,” Braxton said, recalling how he was only able to take office last year after a three-year legal fight.
Former officials denied wrongdoing, insisting in court filings that Braxton’s claim to office was “invalid.” The legal settlement ultimately required a new mayoral election in 2025.
This week’s result showed the town was ready to move forward. Braxton’s campaign received support from groups including the SPLC Action Fund. “Mayor Braxton’s refusal to allow his constituents to be disenfranchised” made the election possible, said Madison Hollon, the group’s political campaigns manager.
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Braxton sees the wide margin of his victory as carrying symbolic weight. “It feels good the second time,” he said, adding that his win should silence “doubts people had hanging in their heads on if people want me.”
