Patrick Braxton Elected First Black Mayor Of Newbern

Patrick Braxton has made history as the first Black mayor of Newbern, a small town in Alabama with a population of just 133 residents. His election marks a hard-fought victory, coming five years after local white officials locked him and his appointed council out of town hall, refusing to recognize their authority, following his mayoral win in 2020.

On Aug. 27, Braxton won the 2025 mayoral race with 66 votes to opponent Laird Cole’s 26, in Newbern, located roughly 40 miles west of Selma.

“The people came out and spoke and voted. Now, there ain’t no doubt what they want for this town,” Braxton told the Associated Press on Wednesday.

This wasn’t his first attempt to take office. Back in 2020, Braxton qualified unopposed to run for the town’s nonpartisan mayoral seat and was declared mayor-elect. However, according to a lawsuit he later filed, town officials refused to recognize his victory. They allegedly changed the locks on the town hall, withheld access to the town’s bank accounts, and held a secret meeting to organize a “special election,” during which they unlawfully re-appointed themselves to office.

Newbern hadn’t held public elections in over 60 years. Instead, leadership roles were handed down through a closed network, with outgoing officials appointing their successors. This system kept the local government almost entirely white, despite the town’s population being two-thirds Black.

Braxton and others filed suit, challenging the legitimacy of this long-standing power structure. In 2024, they settled. Under the agreement, Braxton was officially recognized as mayor, sworn into office, and granted access to town facilities. All individuals falsely claiming office were ordered to step down, and the town committed to holding a formal mayoral election in 2025.

Despite the victory, no one from the previous administration was held accountable for blocking Braxton’s initial attempt to lead. In a 2024 interview with ABC, Braxton’s attorney, Leah Wong, shared that a judge ultimately dismissed all charges against those officials.

“The judge dismissed these individual defendants and just held the town of Newbern as the only defendant. I think that, at the end of the day, we spoke with our plaintiffs. I know Mayor Braxton will speak to this. He and the plaintiffs just really wanted elections in the town more than anything. And I think it really speaks to how they always put the town first in this case,” she added.

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