The trial of the election contest for Centreville Mayor, Mike Oakley vs. Barry Cooner, convened at 9 a.m. on Friday, May 15, 2026 with Circuit Judge Marvin Wiggins presiding.
After a full day of testimony from only 4 witnesses the court recessed the trial after 5 p.m. with an offer to the attorneys to resume on Wednesday May 20, or Thursday May 21.
Witness testimony so far has centered around the handling of absentee ballots that were cast or rejected in the election process. Other testimony centered on a controversy about the voter sign-in sheets from election day that were not produced (or found) until Wednesday of this week, just before trial.
At the conclusion of the days testimony the Judge denied a motion to dismiss from Cooner’s legal team and continued the trial. All remaining issues for trial are still proceeding.
