HOPE MILLS — Commissioners on Wednesday accepted the findings of a personnel investigation that indicated a fellow board member “more likely than not” made a racially discriminatory remark stating “there are too many Blacks running” the town of Hope Mills.
Commissioners held a special meeting this week to receive a general update and the findings of the personnel investigation conducted by Charlotte-based attorney Mac McCarley.
The investigation began the day after the board’s Oct. 6 meeting, during which the board voted 3-2 to censure Commissioner Elyse Craver over allegations that she made racially discriminatory comments.
Commissioners Bryan Marley, Joanne Scarola, and Mayor Pro Tem Kenjuana McCray voted in favor of the censure; Craver and Commissioner Jerry Legge opposed it.
A censure is a formal reprimand of an elected official for actions that violate rules or are otherwise deemed inappropriate.
“I was hired by this commission to investigate one specific fact: whether Commissioner Craver made a racist comment to citizen Roy Young at the Waffle House on September 11,” McCarley began on Wednesday. “That is the limited scope of this report.”
“It comes down to a two-on-two, he-said-she-said case. Four people were directly involved. The two who did most of the talking were Commissioner Craver and Roy Young,” McCarley explained. “Craver had a friend with her, Ruth Farley; Young had a friend with him, David Ritz.
“Mr. Ritz and Mr. Young tell one story; Mrs. Craver and Mrs. Farley tell a different one—and they are absolutely, diametrically opposed.”
McCarley described the setting according to the accounts he received. Both couples were seated in adjacent booths. Craver and Young were sitting on the far sides of their respective tables when Craver asked Young, chair of the town’s Historic Preservation Committee, how things were going.
According to McCarley’s recounting of Young’s statement, Young mentioned his business and the recent passing of his mother. Craver asked about the distinction between a local landmark register and a national designation. The discussion also touched on the committee’s $6,000 funding request, which Craver had voted against and Young had supported.
As the conversation continued, Craver discussed staggered terms (which she had opposed), the failed petition drive for a recall, the town manager, and the parks and recreation director’s budget management, according to McCarley’s report. Both Town Manager Chancer McLaughlin and Parks and Recreation Director Lamarco Morrison are Black men.
Craver also said the town needed two new commissioners and a new mayor to enact change, according to McCarley’s recounting of Young’s statement. That’s when, according to witnesses, she made the alleged racial remark.
“In my judgment—after reviewing the evidence, interviewing the individuals involved, and examining documents—it is more likely than not that Mrs. Craver made the statement, ‘There are too many Blacks running the town,’” McCarley concluded.
According to McCarley’s account of his statement, Young responded, “What did you just say to me?” Craver did not reply.
Craver, however, denied making a comment about the town’s leadership. McCarley said she recalled discussing Young’s mother’s death and historic preservation. Farley, her friend, corroborated this, remembering talk of the mother’s passing and historic plaques.
During his investigation, McCarley also interviewed Mayor Jessie Bellflowers, who confirmed he and Craver had discussed whether a new board could hire or fire a town manager.
McCarley told the board it all comes down to determining credibility. “That’s the guts of the investigation,” he said.
According to McCarley’s report, Young met with town staff on Sept. 15 to report the conversation. He later wrote a two-page statement explaining he “wanted to get it written down so he wouldn’t forget it.” He then requested a meeting with the mayor and town manager.
Young also took a photo at the Waffle House to prove Craver had been present.
“If all they discussed was his mother’s recent death,” McCarley said, “there would be no reason to document her presence.
“It also says that he had a contemporaneous understanding of the significance of what had been said.”
McCarley concluded by assessing the motive of each account of the incident. Young’s, he said, was that of a concerned citizen. Craver’s potential motivation to deny the allegations was to avoid embarrassment and protect her reelection campaign, McCarley said.
After McCarley’s presentation, the board voted 3-1 to accept his report. Marley, Scarola, and McCray voted in favor of the motion and Craver voted against. Legge was not present and was “resting at home,” Bellfowers said. The board then went into closed session and voted to seal the minutes.
Afterwards, a distraught Craver told CityView that McCarley’s report was not correct and reasoned Young’s allegations were about not receiving funding for the committee.
“Roy Young doesn’t even live in the town. Nothing he told the investigator happened in the Waffle House. We were talking about getting a historic recognition to have the chapel a landmark. Nothing was said about anyone here in town. Nothing was said about employees—nothing,” Craver claimed.
Craver, who is 78, alleged she has been referred to by others on town staff as “the old white lady” and as “sitting at the geriatric end of board.”
“I don’t like it, it’s hurtful,” Craver said. “I don’t deserve that. I know I’m white, I know I’m old. I wish people would just try and get along and get off my back.”
Craver, who is seeking reelection to the Hope Mills Board of Commissioners, said this incident does not discourage her from running again and that she will continue to serve the people of Hope Mills.
