A Black man who claims to have been elected as the mayor of a rural town in Alabama has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit after being denied the opportunity to assume office by the town’s White leaders. Patrick Braxton, along with several other plaintiffs, has brought forward a case against Haywood Stokes III, the acting mayor of Newbern, and other town council members. The lawsuit alleges that the White residents of Newbern, who have historically held complete control over the government, refused to accept Braxton’s election. Instead, Stokes and the town council arranged a special election, effectively reappointing themselves and preventing Braxton from carrying out his mayoral duties.
According to the lawsuit, Newbern had not held an election in decades, and the office of mayor was traditionally passed down to a hand-picked successor, who then chose council members without going through an election process. Despite the fact that 85% of Newbern’s population is Black, all previous mayors have been White, with only one Black person ever serving on the town council.
Braxton decided to run for mayor in 2020 because he believed that the needs of the majority Black community were not being addressed by the Town Council and Mayor, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Stokes allegedly provided Braxton with incorrect information on how to qualify for the election and failed to give public notice to residents about the election. Nevertheless, Braxton submitted his candidacy statement and qualifying money order to the city clerk.
Braxton was the only person who qualified for the position of mayor, as no other candidates ran for the position or town council positions. As a result, he was elected mayor by default, becoming the first Black mayor of Newbern in its 165-year history. Braxton was informed by the county probate judge that since no one else had qualified or been elected to town council positions, he had the authority to appoint people to those positions, a practice followed by previous mayoral administrations. Braxton invited both Black and White residents to serve on the council, but no White residents agreed.
However, shortly after Braxton’s election, Stokes and his council members allegedly conducted a secret meeting to adopt a special election ordinance. This special election, which was not properly publicized, allowed Stokes and the council members to reappoint themselves to their positions. They assumed their new terms and were sworn in, despite Braxton having already assembled his own town council.
The lawsuit accuses the defendants of racially motivated actions aimed at preventing Braxton from performing his mayoral duties and the newly formed majority Black Town Council from exercising legislative power. The defendants have filed their oaths of office with the probate judge, but Braxton claims he was not informed of these filings.
In addition to being denied access to Town Hall, where official documents were removed, Braxton has also been unable to access town financial information and the town’s P.O. box. The lawsuit alleges that these actions, along with moves to prevent him from accessing other town documents and communication, constitute a conspiracy to obstruct Braxton’s role as mayor. The defendants deny many of these allegations and assert that they were acting under the color of law.
Braxton is seeking an injunction to prevent the defendants from interfering with his mayoral duties, immediate access to accounts, documents, and property necessary for his role, as well as an order to prevent the defendants from conducting business on behalf of the town.
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