HOPE MILLS – Never a dull political moment in the old mill town.
There’s always some kind of political drama, and the latest political drama playing out is smack-dab in the middle of town hall.
“I am not guilty of any of this,” Commissioner Elyse Craver said this week about being censured Monday at a Hope Mills Town Board meeting, where the 78-year-old commissioner was accused of racially discriminatory comments.
Mayor Pro Tem Kenjuana McCray and fellow commissioners Bryan Marley and Joanne Scarola voted for the censure. Commissioner Jerry Legge and Craver voted against the censure.
“They have been trying to remove me and Commissioner Legge from the board for two years,” Craver said. “I refuse to allow the town manager [Chancer McLaughlin] to dictate how I should vote. Last night, they claimed that I made a racial remark, which is untrue, as I have not spoken to him in months outside the boardroom.
“This is purely political, as they aim to get me off the board.
“They are attempting to remove me from this board because I refuse to be a ‘yes’ woman,” said Craver, who is bidding for a second consecutive term. “They are trying to oust me from the board just before an election.”
The Oct. 6 board meeting began innocently enough, with Mayor Jessie Bellflowers welcoming what was a full capacity audience, Scarola reminding everyone about an upcoming chili cookoff, Marley recognizing new town police officers and Craver telling folks about her attendance at a recent gospel sing program hosted by the Alms House at a local church.
Seemed like just another Hope Mills Town Board meeting until the mayor recognized Marley with a motion for calling out Craver for her alleged racism.
“I would like to make a motion to officially censure Commission Elyse Craver,” the 49-year-old five-term commissioner said, for what Marley described as Craver’s public comments “about town staff, which I do not believe reflect the values of this board.”
Marley said the resolution for censure was in keeping with the town and board policy and commitment of fairness, integrity and racial equality.
Legge, a longtime commissioner, quickly came to Craver’s defense. He said there was not sufficient evidence for censure but suggested further discussion before taking action Monday.
“I don’t believe we have enough stuff against Mrs. Craver to take any action,” he told the board.
Craver defended herself, too.
“This is just an election ploy to keep me out of office,” Craver told the mayor and the board. “…I am not guilty of saying any racial remark.”
No matter, McCray, Marley and Scarola voted for the censure, and later voted to hire a Charlotte lawyer to investigate grievances of town employees, who allege a hostile work environment created by a board member. The cost, according to the mayor, will be $450 per hour.
Craver, who said Thursday she is scheduled to meet with the lawyer Monday, says she never saw the censure coming. She remains committed to running for re-election, she says.
“I was shocked,” she said, when Marley called for her censure. “And they were going to hire an investigator [the Charlotte lawyer]. Why do we need to spend the money? They have already censured me.”
It was a traumatic and unnerving Monday evening for Craver in town hall, as well as her supporters, who stood by her July 7 vote not to extend two-year terms to four for the mayor and commissioner’s seats. Craver passionately pleaded with McCray, Marley, and Scarola to delay that vote or to place it on a ballot for Hope Mills residents to decide.
‘A well-orchestrated October surprise’
Rod Gosciniak is a supporter of Craver, and says he saw her anxiety as the censure played out.
“I watched her during the entire meeting,” Gosciniak, 56, a retired soldier, said. “She was definitely blindsided. She was distraught. They had her guilty. It was a well-orchestrated October surprise.”
He walked Craver to her vehicle at meeting’s end, saying he was concerned for her safety and well-being because of her age and what had transpired, and Gosciniak said he could see Craver’s frayed nerves.
“I would have done it for anybody … Commissioner Scarola, Commissioner McCray,” he said. “I would have done it for Commissioner Marley. I would have done it for the mayor. I would have done it for the town manager.”
While some in the audience cheered for the censure, others disagreed.
“To censure Commissioner Craver without it being put on the agenda or without showing any proof should be considered criminal,” Cindy Hamilton, who is running for a commissioner’s seat in the Nov. 4 election, said Friday.
Not criminal, mind you, but Jerry Legge says you don’t censure on hearsay.
“I never heard her say anything, so I don’t think it is fair to vote to censure Mrs. Craver,” said Legge, 82, who is not seeking reelection after 26 years on the board. “I’m not going to say she didn’t say it, but I don’t have any hardcore evidence. I know some of those people are after her. I think they jumped on the bandwagon to maybe cost her votes. She was shocked. She was totally shocked. First thing she did [Monday night], she tapped me on the arm and said, ‘I didn’t do that.’ But I’m not the judge and the jury on the whole thing.”
‘Investigation will show the proof’
Censuring an elected government leader is nothing more than a slap on the hand for what Mayor Pro Tem Kenjuana McCray and fellow commissioners Bryan Marley and Joanne Scarola believe was inappropriate conduct and comments on the part of Craver.
But hearsay doesn’t cut it.
I reached out on Thursday to Mayor Bellflowers, McCray, Marley, and Scarola asking if they had proof that Craver was guilty of racist remarks, and if the board should have waited until findings of an investigation revealed the commissioner indeed deserved censure.
None responded to my email inquiry.
Not Mayor Jessie Bellflowers. Not Mayor Pro Tem Kenjuana McCray. Not Commissioner Bryan Marley. Not Joanne Scarola.
About all we know for now is that the three commissioners who voted to censure a fellow commissioner stand by their votes.
“The investigation we approved will show the proof,” Marley told our CityView correspondent Jason Canady, who reported on the Oct. 6 meeting. “It was morally and ethically the right thing to do. I personally—and this building—do not stand for the treatment of employees she’s displayed behind closed doors and in public. Her views and opinions do not align with mine or those of this board. I won’t be grouped with Commissioner Craver.”
Epilogue
Seems like there’s never a dull moment when it comes to the political landscape in the old mill town.
We’ll see how it plays out for the 18,000-plus Hope Mills residents, who will have the final say on Nov. 4, where Jessie Bellflowers has opposition from Todd Henderson for the mayor’s gavel and there are 10 candidates running for five commissioner’s seats, including Marley, Scarola and Craver. Approximately 11,000 of the residents, according to the Cumberland County Board of Elections, are registered to vote.
Town residents who vote will be the judge and the jury, and that’s the bottom line unless we hear otherwise between now and Election Day.
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
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