Brighton and Munford elect their first Black aldermen

On Tuesday, the Town of Brighton and the City of Munford elected the first Black aldermen in each town’s history.

In Brighton, former police officer Sonny Foster earned the second-most votes in the race where four aldermen are elected.

In Munford, Deborah Reed ran as a write-in candidate and was elected to fill the third of three seats up for grabs.

They are only two of four of Tipton County’s municipalities who’ve had diversity in public office.

In Covington, Minnie Bommer became the first Black alderwoman – and the first woman – in the 1980s.

Mason, where over the last several years the mayor and every board member was a person of color, is the only other municipality with racial diversity amongst its elected officials.

In 2015, Gwendolyn Kilpatrick became the first Black mayor, and the first woman to be mayor, in Tipton County and Emmit Gooden became the first Black man to be mayor in a Tipton County town in 2018.

Sarah Crocker became Brighton’s first female mayor in 2015.