Barton to take her late husband's council seat

Cheryl Barton, the 68-year old widow of Fred Barton, will take the oath of office Monday afternoon to fill the unexpired term of her late husband on the Brewton City Council.

Last Monday, the Brewton City Council voted to name Cheryl Barton to the District 5 council seat. The seat will be on the 2020 municipal ballot. Cheryl Barton has said she will not run for a full term, but will only serve the remaining years of her late husband.

Fred Barton had represented District 5 since 2008 and was serving as mayor pro tem when he died on Aug. 6.

“The stipulation was that I wouldn't run for the seat,” Mrs. Barton said. “My job now is continue the work of my husband.”

Although never directly in politics, Mrs. Barton said she has learned a lot about the process from her husband.

“I went with him to a lot of the League of Municipalities meetings and I would sit in the classes,” she said. “I do know about the ethics, the dos and don'ts and how to run a city.”

She said she was honored when approached about filling her husband's term.

“I felt my husband would want me to,” she said. “I helped him campaign and have met a lot of the people in the district.”

She said she taught school at W.S. Neal for 24 years before transferring to the career technical center and said many of her former students are now residents in District 5.

She said one thing for certain is to continue her husband's project with Pensacola Caring Hearts that helps provide food for the needy.

At 6 p.m. Saturday, Mrs. Barton will be at the Brewton Civic Center to accept the NAACP's Lifetime Achievement Award on her late husband's behalf. Fred Barton had been selected for the award prior to his death.

“I want to continue the projects he started for our district and for the entire city,” Mrs. Barton said. “We still have some streets that need to be paved and I will continue to work on the park in Alco. I've already been approached about adding speed breakers in certain areas of the district.”

Mrs. Barton grew up in Evergreen and moved to Brewton 46 years ago when she and Fred got married.

“He will be truly missed in Brewton and the surrounding areas,” she said. “I just want to continue the good work he was doing.”