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'Braxton, who is Black, decided to go to the town hall and talk to Stokes, who is white, in person. He told Stokes that he would need a key to the town hall to begin his duties. Stokes acquiesced and gave him a key, but when Braxton entered the building, he found that town hall had been stripped of its records, beyond a couple boxes of discarded items that looked like trash. He also said he noticed that Stokes had given keys to friends of his, people who were not council members and had no official business with the city, who were walking in and out of the building.'
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/26/black-mayor-alabama-town-locked-out
@cyrilpedia reminds me of this local gem, albeit without the race angle:
'Second, none of these council members was ever elected-they were all appointed, by one another. The last time a council member was elected by voters was in 1979, and even that involved a pair of write-in candidates. The clan's position is that they don't bother to run for election because no one else in the village wants the job. With just nine or 10 homes, they say there are few volunteers for council.'
https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15134952/town-without-pity/