Patrick Braxton, the first Black mayor of Newbern, Alabama, has secured reelection in a landslide in the tiny town of just 133 residents.
Braxton won 66 votes to his opponent’s 26, according to official results, a decisive victory that solidifies his leadership after years of legal battles and racial tensions that made national headlines.
“The people came out and spoke and voted. Now, there ain’t no doubt what they want for this town,” Braxton said following the election.
Newbern, located about 40 miles west of Selma, had gone more than six decades without a single municipal election. Instead, town officials operated under what residents called “hand-me-down governance,” in which each mayor simply appointed their successor and filled council seats without a public vote.
The system left Newbern with an almost entirely White government, even though Black residents outnumbered White residents two-to-one.
That changed in 2020, when Braxton, a volunteer firefighter, qualified to run for mayor unopposed. By law, that made him mayor-elect.
But instead of stepping into the office, he found himself locked out of town hall, denied access to financial records, and sidelined by officials who held a secret meeting to reappoint themselves.
“I didn’t get a chance to serve but one year out of the five years,” Braxton said, recalling the years of struggle that followed. He eventually took office in 2023 after a lengthy lawsuit brought by himself and other Black residents, who argued the system violated their constitutional rights.
Under a federal settlement, Newbern held its first proper mayoral election in 2025, with Braxton facing challenger Laird Cole, a White auctioneer and Realtor. This time, the choice was clear. Voters overwhelmingly backed Braxton, delivering a mandate that left little room for dispute.
