BESSEMER, Ala. (WBMA) — A Jefferson County judge has ordered Kenneth Gulley to stop exercising the powers of Bessemer mayor, ruling his term ended Monday and newly elected Mayor Louise Alexander is entitled to take office immediately.
Circuit Judge David J. Hobdy issued a permanent injunction Monday after Alexander went to court seeking emergency relief in a dispute over when Bessemer's newly elected mayor and City Council members legally take office.
The order bars Gulley from holding himself out as mayor, exercising any powers of the office, signing contracts or checks on behalf of the city, directing city employees, spending city funds or participating as a member of the Bessemer City Council.
The judge also ordered Gulley and others covered by the injunction to turn over city keys, access cards, passwords, credentials, vehicles, equipment and records to Alexander or her designee within 12 hours of being served with the order. Gulley is permitted to retrieve personal belongings from his City Hall office by 3 p.m. Tuesday.
The ruling follows a dispute over when Alexander, who defeated Gulley in the Sept. 22 mayoral runoff, was legally entitled to assume office.
City argued Gulley's term continued until November
Alexander's lawsuit says she took the oath of office Monday morning and demanded that Gulley vacate the mayor's office and turn over city property.
According to the complaint, Gulley refused.
The disagreement centered not on who won the election, but on when the transition of power was legally required to occur.
Alexander relied on an Alabama law specific to Bessemer that states newly elected city officials assume office on the first Monday in October following the election and that the terms and powers of the current mayor and governing body end at that time.
The first Monday in October this year was Oct. 5.
Bessemer had taken a different position.
In an Oct. 2 letter included as an exhibit in Alexander's lawsuit, City Attorney Aaron Killings argued that Alabama's municipal election statutes must be read together and that Bessemer's newly elected officials should take office on the first Monday in November.
Killings wrote that Bessemer Ordinance No. 3424 established a November commencement date consistent with changes to Alabama's general municipal election laws and the requirement that elected officials serve four-year terms.
Alexander's attorneys argued that a city ordinance could not override state law and that Gulley's authority ended Oct. 5.
The judge agreed with Alexander.
Hobdy found that Gulley's term ended "by operation of law" on Oct. 5 and ruled that Ordinance No. 3424 could not extend it.
Judge cites risks to city government
The court's order says allowing Gulley to continue exercising the powers of mayor would create uncertainty over the validity of official city actions, conflicting direction to city employees and risks involving public money and records.
The judge found those potential consequences constituted irreparable harm that could not be compensated through monetary damages.
The injunction specifically prohibits Gulley from executing contracts, checks, warrants or appointments on behalf of Bessemer; spending or transferring city funds or property; and hiring, firing, disciplining, reassigning or directing city employees.
It also prohibits him from interfering with Alexander's access to City Hall or her exercise of the mayor's office and from removing, concealing, altering or destroying city records or property.
The order further prohibits Gulley from receiving any salary or other compensation from the mayor's office accruing after Oct. 5.
Court says Gulley served 16 years and one day
The ruling also establishes an endpoint to Gulley's lengthy tenure at City Hall.
The court found Gulley assumed office on Oct. 4, 2010, and declared that he had served 16 years and one day as Bessemer mayor.
Alexander defeated Gulley in the Sept. 22 runoff after finishing second to the incumbent in the initial Aug. 25 election.
Her victory was part of broader turnover in Bessemer's 2026 municipal elections. Three new members were elected to the seven-member City Council, while five of seven members of the next Bessemer Board of Education will be new.
The leadership changes come as the city continues dealing with major issues ABC 33/40 has followed, including the Project Marvel data center development and the state intervention in Bessemer City Schools.
Questions now turn to transition
Monday's ruling resolves the immediate legal dispute in Alexander's favor: the court says Gulley's authority as mayor has ended and Alexander is entitled to exercise the powers of the office.
The order comes ahead of a Bessemer City Council meeting scheduled for Tuesday evening. Alexander's complaint warned that uncertainty over who held the mayor's authority could affect city business conducted at that meeting.