Mayor of Centreville Requesting To Examine Election Materials In His Election Challenge

September 22,2025 - CENTREVILLE, AL - After Mayor Mike Oakley of Centreville filed an election challenge in the circuit court of Bibb County requesting that he should be declared the winner of the mayoral election for the county seat of Bibb County due to alleged election misconduct, the mayor-elect, Barry Cooner filed a motion to dismiss Oakley's election challenge. With Cooner's attorney, Centreville based Michael Murphy, stating that the proper defendant in Oakley's election challenge should be the city of Centreville and that Oakley's election challenge should be dismissed due to failing to name a proper party as a defendant within the time frame allowed for an election contest.

Oakley's attorney, Joel R. Blankenship of the Bachus, Brom, and Taylor, LLC Birmingham-based law firm, promptly filed a response to Cooner's motion to dismiss. Clarifying that under the Code of Alabama Section 11-46-69(a)(2024) an election contest is brought against the person whose election is being challenged. Further explaining that since Barry Cooner is the mayor-elect of Centreville, he is the proper defendant in the election challenge. With the relief for the election challenge being sought from the court, not the defendant, himself. Now the hearing for Cooner's motion to dismiss is set for October 27th, 2025 at nine in the morning in the Circuit Court of Bibb County.

In the meantime, Mayor Mike Oakley of Centreville, has also filed a motion for him and/or his designated representatives "to examine certain election materials from the August 26th, 2025 election for the office of Mayor of Centreville, Alabama, pursuant to Ala. Code Section 17-16-46." With Oakley's motion specifically requesting the court to establish procedures for the examination of all the documents pertaining to the absentee ballots that were used in the August 26th, 2025 election for mayor of Centreville. The reason the materials pertaining to the absentee ballots are being sought by Oakley is because it is the absentee ballots that determined the outcome of the mayoral election in August.

Originally, on the day of the election for mayor of Centreville, both the incumbent, Mayor Mike Oakley, and his challenger, Barry Cooner, ended up in an exact tie with 326 votes for each one of them. This meant that both the candidates and the citizens of the county seat of Bibb County had to wait another week before the election was certified with the counting of the absentee ballots. Four of the eight absentee ballots that were reviewed were deemed eligible to be counted. With three of them going towards Cooner and one for Mayor Oakley. Making the final tally 329 for Cooner and 327 for Oakley. Incidentally, Barry Cooner's wife, Kayla Cooner, is the Circuit Court Clerk of Bibb County, Alabama. A position which includes acting as the county absentee election manager. A duty which involves processing the absentee ballot applications and managing their delivery and receipt.

In order to make sure no stone is left unturned and to make sure no election irregularities are overlooked in what locals describe as a very heated election, Oakley's attorney is also requesting that they be allowed to examine all of the materials related to the provisional ballots, the in-person ballots, and the poll lists and poll books used at each voting place in Centreville for the August 26th, 2025 election.

Luisa Reyes is a Tuscaloosa Attorney, piano instructor, and vocalist.