Patrick Braxton resigns as mayor of Newbern following election contest settlement
Patrick Braxton has resigned as mayor of the Town of Newbern following the resolution of a Hale County Circuit Court election contest that challenged his eligibility to hold office based on residency.
Braxton’s resignation comes after Circuit Judge Marvin W. Wiggins entered an order on Thursday, Jan. 16, approving a private settlement agreement between Braxton and challenger Laird Cole, and dismissing the case “with prejudice,” meaning it cannot be refiled.
In that order, Wiggins stated that the parties’ private settlement agreement was “approved” and “incorporated by reference,” and that the court would retain jurisdiction “for the sole purpose of enforcing the terms of the settlement agreement.”
The order followed a joint motion filed by both parties late last month, notifying the court that they had entered into a private settlement and requesting dismissal with prejudice under terms that included court approval of the agreement, incorporation by reference, and the refund of security posted pursuant to statute.
Cole’s attorneys with Bachus, Brom & Taylor, LLC announced Braxton’s resignation Friday in a press release that tied the departure directly to the court action.
“Patrick Braxton tendered his official resignation after the Hale County Circuit Court issued an order (attached) approving a confidential settlement and dismissing the contest,” the release stated.
A resignation letter signed by Braxton is dated Dec. 31, 2025, and addressed to the Newbern City Council “c/o Barbara Patrick,” identified as mayor pro tempore. In the letter, Braxton wrote:
“Please accept this letter as my resignation from the office of Mayor for the Town of Newbern,” adding that it had been his “honor and pleasure” to serve.
The election contest stemmed from Newbern’s 2025 municipal election, in which Braxton and Cole were the only two candidates on the ballot for mayor.
Cole, identified in court filings as a resident and qualified voter of Newbern, challenged Braxton’s eligibility on the ground that Braxton was not a resident of the town and therefore could not lawfully hold the office.
Cole’s complaint stated that Braxton filed a statement of candidacy on June 18, 2025, swearing before a notary that he resided at 144 Bryant Street in Newbern, had been or would have been a resident of Newbern for at least 90 days by the date of the election, and was a qualified elector of the town.
The complaint alleged that statement was false and asserted that Braxton “does not now, and did not at the time of filing his Statement of Candidacy or at the time of the Election, reside at 144 Bryant Street in Newbern, or at any other address within the city limits of Newbern.”
The filing further alleged that Braxton was not a qualified elector of Newbern and resided outside the town limits. Braxton denied the allegations, according to Cole’s attorneys, and the case ultimately ended in a confidential settlement.
The terms of that settlement were not made public in the court’s dismissal order, which instead incorporated the agreement by reference while retaining limited jurisdiction for enforcement.
Court records show the election was held Aug. 26, 2025, and that Braxton was declared the winner on Sept. 2, 2025. Cole filed the contest on Sept. 7, 2025, within the statutory time window triggered by the declaration of results.
In their press release Friday, Cole’s attorneys said Alabama law does not permit a circuit judge to declare Cole the winner or order a new election in this type of contest, but instead provides for the vacancy to be addressed at the municipal level.
“Under Alabama law, it’s now up to the Town Council to fill the vacancy,” the release stated.
Cole urged the council to adopt what he described as an unbiased process in selecting the next mayor and asserted in the release that he would have been mayor if Braxton had been ineligible.
Braxton was the only candidate to file qualifying papers for the 2020 Newbern mayoral election, which touched off a prolonged legal fight and years of dispute over the town’s governance and election practices. For the next several years, two separate mayors and town councils both claimed to be the legitimate municipal governing body for Newbern.
That dispute ultimately ended with a federal settlement in 2024 that formally recognized Braxton as mayor and set Newbern on a path toward holding regular municipal elections.
Newbern’s first fully contested mayoral election in decades followed in 2025, when Braxton won the race against Cole. With Braxton now out of office after the settlement of Cole’s residency-based election contest, state law says the power to appoint the town’s next mayor lies with the Town Council.
