An ongoing dispute between two men who say they are in charge of a small Alabama town has put the community in the national spotlight.
Tarrant Mayor Wayman Newton and City Manager John C. Brown have been feuding for more than a year, just one of many bizarre controversies that have plagued the small Jefferson County town of about 6,000. residents.
Newton was appointed mayor in 2020 and Brown received the title of city manager on June 6, 2023.
The day after Brown was appointed, Newton filed a lawsuit against him, alleging that the city council had “illegally” placed Brown in his leadership position.
A judge later granted a temporary restraining order against Brown that prevented him from taking Newton’s place as “the king of Tarrant.”
Both men, who refuse to speak to each other, now have to resolve their issues in the Alabama Supreme Court.
Wayman Newton, mayor of Tarrant, Alabama, sued John C. Brown after he was appointed city manager in June 2023.
Both men, who refuse to speak to each other, now have to resolve their issues in the Alabama Supreme Court. (pictured: Tarrant Town Hall)
“He sends emails to employees and they have been instructed to send all those emails to me, and I don’t bother responding,” Newton said. AL.com.
The legal battle between Newton and Brown began last summer when the mayor sued Brown for taking over as Tarrant’s city manager, a position council members voted on.
Judge Pat Ballard ruled in favor of Newton, saying the city could not hire someone else to do its job.
The day after Brown (pictured) was appointed, Newton filed a lawsuit against him, alleging that the city council had “illegally” put him in his position.
In turn, Brown lost his job, his $100,000 annual salary, and his bank account was wiped out to pay his $78,000 in legal fees, as ordered by Ballard.
Brown appealed the case and it was soon handed over to the state supreme court. Meanwhile, the judge has suspended the seizure of his account.
Newton said the case going to the Supreme Court will only address Ballard’s order to withdraw money from the former city manager’s account, and does not mean Brown can get his job back.
“The ranch doesn’t mention anything about his work,” Newton said.
“As far as I’m concerned, the judge’s order remains in effect that he was improperly hired by the city council and does not have the legal authority to work in the role of city manager, so we do not have a city manager “. .’
The mayor said the city is “in the Supreme Court case” and that it is too late for Brown to get bail as part of his appeals process.
Judge Pat Ballard ruled in favor of Newton (pictured) and said the council could not hire someone else to do its job.
Meanwhile, Brown’s attorney, Scott Morro, said his client has the right to return to work.
“We are confident that in the long term, John Brown will be Tarrant’s city manager according to the law, not according to the narcissistic insistence of a man who wants to be the king of Tarrant,” Morro said.
‘He has returned with the blessing of the city council, but the mayor ignores him. The mayor is calling meetings and telling everyone not to do anything he says, but his time is coming.’
Morro added that he is working on obtaining a bond and a letter of credit for Brown.
‘The embargo is when the bank says: “We are going to retain this amount.” We already have the appeal brief and we are waiting for bail, so once bail is issued, the underlying sentence is suspended,’ Moro told AL.com.
DailyMail.com has contacted Newton and Brown’s lawyer, Morro, for comment.
The power struggle between the mayor and the city council are not the only problems facing the small city.
In December, a 79-year-old woman was arrested on misdemeanor charges alleging disorderly conduct and harassment after a heated exchange with a city worker at a City Council meeting.
Novilee Williams (far left) was arrested and taken to jail on December 5, just one day after getting into an argument with Shayla Myricks, a city accountant (right).
Novilee Williams was arrested at her home and taken to jail on Dec. 5, just one day after getting into an argument with Shayla Myricks, a city accountant.
Video of the tense encounter at the meeting showed Williams pushing Myricks’ hand away, saying “turn around honey,” the Associated Press reported.
According to the police report, Myricks accused the resident of “fighting and threatening behavior in a public place.”
“There are some rules for some and there are rules for others,” council member Veronica Freeman said after the incident, suggesting it was politically motivated.
‘When a certain person is attacked, it is a problem. They went too far to do that to Mrs. Williams.
Freeman also made headlines after Councilman Tommy Bryant, a white man, referred to her, a black woman, as a ‘house nigger.’
Video of the encounter showed Bryant angry over a social media post his wife allegedly uploaded with Mayor Newton and Freeman that featured the slur.
The mayor has denied using the racist epithet against Councilor Veronica Freeman (pictured). Bryant justified her actions by stating that she was just repeating what the mayor said.
Upset that someone in the crowd suggested his wife used a racial slur, Bryant repeatedly said the word at the meeting, claiming he was just repeating what Newton called Freeman in the video.
The mayor denied Bryant’s claim that he made the comment about Freeman.
Bryant said his actions were justified. He also refused to apologize and was noncommittal when asked if he was racist.
“It agrees with their definition of the word racist,” he told WVTM. ‘What a large part of the public defines is that it could be racist. But according to what the true definition of racist is, absolutely not.’
About a year after that conflict, Bryant was arrested for allegedly punching Newtown after the mayor made a lewd sexual reference about his wife. Newtown said he was reacting to a racist comment from Bryant.
Bryant was found not guilty of assaulting the mayor in 2023.
Another controversy involved Tarrant Police Chief Wendell Major, who was suspended three times for insubordination and for allegedly dropping murder and arson charges in several cases.
Major’s attorneys called the allegation “absolutely, 100% false.”
