Business executive and community leader Joshua Brown has announced his candidacy for mayor of Bay Minette, aiming to bring a new era of transparency and inclusive leadership to the city. The election is set for Aug. 26, 2025.
Brown, a lifelong resident of Bay Minette and director of sales at Local IT in Foley, is challenging the current administration’s leadership style and fiscal record, offering voters a stark contrast in vision.
“Quite simply, we have too many decisions made behind closed doors without the people of this city having a full understanding of the facts,” Brown said in his announcement. “Good governance requires our elected officials to practice open-dialogue and provide the details for how decisions are being made – neither of which our current mayor of 13 years is demonstrating.”
In his statement, Brown criticized what he described as “deliberate silence” from city hall, warning that a lack of transparency has eroded public trust and left citizens disconnected from the decision-making process.
The economic picture, Brown argued, is equally troubling.
“Bay Minette has seen stagnant growth over the past decade,” he said. “Our per capita household income averages 10 percent lower than the rest of Baldwin County, and our city poverty rate across our nearly 8,500 citizens continues to hover near 30 percent. As the county seat for the 4th largest county in the state, this is unacceptable.”
Brown pointed to what he called unsustainable borrowing practices that have added to the city’s debt burden.
“Since 2015, we’ve seen a 42 percent increase in city debt, resulting in more than $500,000 in interest payments in fiscal year 2024 alone,” he said. “We cannot borrow our way to prosperity, particularly when the workforce that will be disproportionately asked to pay it back are today’s young people, particularly moms and dads who are struggling to make ends meet.”
Brown’s campaign leans heavily on his business acumen and deep community roots. He holds both a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from the University of South Alabama and has been active in local civic life. His volunteer work includes leading Financial 101 seminars aimed at young adults and seniors, mentoring at Bay Minette Elementary and Baldwin County High School, and serving as lead musician at Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church. He also chairs social events for the Eastern Shore Chamber Young Professionals.
To kick off his campaign, Brown will host a community celebration on Saturday, July 12, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Douglasville Pavilion in Bay Minette.
