Alabama town gets its mayor four years after he wins election

Newbern Mayor-election Patrick Braxton and the city of Newbern have reached an agreement that will allow Braxton to take office, four years after the election. (File)

Newbern Mayor Patrick Braxton, first elected in 2020, will assume office four years after he was the lone candidate to qualify for the race.

Opposing parties in a federal civil rights suit, which alleged that elections had stopped in Newbern with officials appointing their successors for mayor and the town council once they wanted to leave office, reached an agreement on Friday declaring Braxton as mayor of the town in Hale County.

“A proposed settlement was filed with the court on Friday, June 21st,” according to a statement from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, which is representing Braxton in the case. “The judge has not yet ruled on the proposed settlement, but we are hopeful for a positive outcome.”

Braxton declined comment, citing advice from his attorneys. Messages seeking comment were left Tuesday with attorneys representing the town of Newbern seeking comment.

The lawsuit alleged that Newbern had not had an election for several decades, and that incoming officials were selected to represent the town by their predecessors when they no longer wanted to serve.

Haywood Stokes III was Newbern’s mayor after he was tapped for the post by the previous mayor, before Braxton was set to assume office in 2020.

Braxton completed the necessary paperwork and paid fees to qualify as a candidate, according to the lawsuit. Stokes, the suit alleged, failed to qualify for the race.

Since no other candidate qualified for the election, the lawsuit stated, Braxton should have served as the mayor-elect in July 2020 although he would not take office until November of the same year.

The lawsuit claimed that between July and November, Stokes attempted to prevent Braxton from assuming office by approving an ordinance, with the town council’s blessing, to host a special election for the town council in October.

According to the lawsuit, no notices were published informing residents of the October 2020 election, and only the residents that Stokes recruited qualified to be on the ballot for the special election.

“No residents of Newbern voted in this special election,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit also claimed that Stokes and town officials denied Braxton access to relevant documents and access to Newbern’s financial records. Council members also suspended Braxton from serving as a volunteer firefighter and first responder, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit said there were “more than 60 years of electoral malfeasance with respect to the town’s electoral customs and practices.”

“Plaintiffs contend the actions taken by the Newbern defendants, spearheaded by Stokes, both before and after the 2020 elections, as well as the town’s history of non-compliance with Alabama election law, have resulted in a myriad of constitutional violations all aimed at preventing the town’s Black majority from electing candidates of their choice,” the lawsuit said.

Under the settlement, none of the parties involved in the case admit wrongdoing, according to the arrangement.

Stokes and the town’s officials, for example, had to admit that municipal officials violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. They must also admit to violating Braxton’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.

The agreement designates Braxton as the mayor of Newbern and that all other elected positions representing the town are dissolved after officers were forced to resign.

The town must immediately grant Braxton access to all official documents, accounts and town property, as well as retain all records relevant to the case.

The agreement leaves Braxton as the only official in the town. He must then act to begin filling the town’s other elected position vacancies. According to the arrangement, Braxton will propose individuals to the governor’s office to fill the town council’s vacant positions 14 days after the agreement becomes official.

If the governor refuses to accept Braxton’s nominees, Gov. Kay Ivey will then notify the Hale County probate judge to declare a special election to fill the vacant positions.

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