Newbern, Alabama, seats Town Council, looks to move past years-long legal fight
For the first time in four years, the town of Newbern, Alabama, has a legitimately appointed and approved government, with the town’s first Black mayor in its 170-year history at its head.
On Oct. 27, Alabama Fourth Circuit Court Judge Marvin Wiggins swore in five new council members to the Newbern Town Council. The five – Marla Cole, Ann Bailey, Janice Quarles, Barbara Patrick and James Robinson – volunteered for appointment to the council in July. Mayor Patrick Braxton forwarded the list of potential council members to Gov. Kay Ivey, who approved those appointments on Oct. 18.
“It took a while,” Braxton said. “They had to do background checks on everyone before the governor could sign off on them.”
Unlike the previous administration, which was predominantly male and white, the council that serves with Braxton consists of four women and one man, three of whom are Black. According to the 2020 census, Newbern’s population is 92% Black.
Braxton, the town’s first Black mayor, regained the office for a second time after a U.S. district judge in Mobile signed off on a settlement agreement between Braxton and the town on July 23.
Braxton was initially sworn in on Nov. 2, 2020, but said he faced obstacles at every turn. He contends that the previous mayor and administration blocked him from accessing the city’s accounts, records, post office box and town hall while enacting a plan to remove him from office, which they accomplished in February 2021.
Despite the settlement that returned him to office, Braxton said the obstruction has not stopped. Although he was given the keys to the town hall and some financial records, he has not yet received access to any of Newbern’s financial accounts or been able to establish a Postal Service box for the town pending the appointment of the council members.
“It’s been hard,” Braxton said. “We have vendors who have not been paid because we don’t have the accounts. That’s why we moved quickly to get everyone sworn in and hold our first meeting.”
When U.S. Judge for the Southern District of Alabama Kristi DuBose signed off on the settlement, she had instituted monthly check-ins to make sure things were going smoothly. After the first session in August, however, those meetings were switched to quarterly, with the next one due in late November.
Municipal officials from several towns across the state, along with family and friends of the new appointees, were on hand to support Braxton and the town’s new council on Oct. 27. None of the previous administration’s officers, however, were present for the swearing in and initial meeting.
The lack of cooperation in transferring power and the inability to access public accounts has also prevented the performance of an audit of the town’s finances, one of the requirements of the settlement agreement. The seating of the council will allow that process to move forward once access to all of the town’s financial records and accounts is secured.
“There are two accounting firms that have expressed an interest in taking on the audit work,” said Vickie Moore, executive director of the Alabama Conference of Black Mayors. “There is another firm that may take on the audit pro bono, which is an option we are also exploring.”
Outgoing Mayor Haywood Stokes III, along with the four former Town Council members and the town clerk, agreed to step down from their official positions on July 23 as part of the settlement that returned Braxton to power, three years and five months after those same council members voted to remove Braxton from office.
In the settlement, the town of Newbern admitted that it had deprived citizens of their voting rights for decades, because the town had held no municipal elections. The offices of mayor and council member were simply passed from one administration to another without a vote. The settlement agreement, negotiated on Braxton’s behalf by attorneys with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) and Quinn, Connor, Weaver, Davies & Rouco, ended the years-long journey for Braxton to take his place as mayor.
The LDF attorneys took over the case shortly after one defendant filed a motion to move it to federal court, where heightened visibility led to viral media coverage.
The council members, along with Braxton, are serving a partial term, ending in 2025 when the town will hold its first municipal election in at least 60 years.
Image at top: In Newbern, Alabama, public officials, family members and friends join Mayor Patrick Braxton, seated at center, and new members of the Town Council, who were sworn in on Oct. 27, 2024, at the Newbern town hall. (Credit: Dwayne Fatherree)
