The last time Zebulon elected a mayor, in 2021, it was about as sleepy an electoral cycle as you could imagine. The outgoing mayor had decided not to run again after 28 years in office. Glenn York, a town commissioner at the time, ran and won easily against an opponent who had no government experience. Out of 8,000 residents, only 558 voted.
Four years later, the tiny town in eastern Wake County is gearing up for a very different mayoral race.
For one thing, York is running for reelection despite a chorus of calls for his removal from office. About as many people have signed a petition to that effect as elected him four years ago.
For another, instead of one relatively weak opponent, York has four challengers this time around: two sitting town commissioners, one former commissioner, and a former town manager.
Combine the crowded field with the fact that Zebulon has added 2,000 new residents since the last mayoral election, and this race has the potential to be the most competitive in recent town history.
But why are people calling for York’s resignation, and why are so many candidates jostling to replace him? Residents of Zebulon have been complaining about their town board of commissioners, which includes the mayor, for months. They’ve pointed to staffing vacancies, questionable hires, a lawsuit, and sudden resignations within town government as evidence that the board is untrustworthy or even corrupt.
Below, a crash course on the municipal government meltdown in Zebulon.
The town board hires Taiwo Jaiyeoba to replace Moore on an interim basis.
The vote was unanimous, according to meeting minutes. Jaiyeoba had recently resigned as city manager of Greensboro following a workplace sexual harassment investigation and a separate incident of alleged domestic violence.
Developers sue the Town of Zebulon over a rezoning rejection, alleging commissioners had conflicts of interest.
In May 2024, Zebulon town staff recommended the board approve Deacon Development Group’s proposal to build a 320-unit housing development called Zebulon South near downtown, but the board rejected it in a 4-1 vote.
Deacon’s lawsuit alleges the rejection was arbitrary and illegal, with the developers claiming that multiple town commissioners had undisclosed personal reasons for voting against the proposal.
Commissioner Shannon Baxter voted “no” for fear that the development would negatively impact her beekeeping business, Baxter’s Bees, the complaint alleged, per WUNC.
Baxter told WUNC “that ‘bee colonies in urban settings do very well’ and it’s a ‘non-issue’ for the property in question.”
Also in the complaint: Commissioner Quentin Miles allegedly “made racially and sexually charged statements about [Deacon’s] counsel” during the rezoning application process “and indicated because he dislikes her, he would not approve any projects in which she represents the applicant.”
Miles did not respond to a request for comment. A jury trial is scheduled for November.
The town board hires Gilbert Todd as town manager.
Todd was working in the town’s public works department before he was elevated to the manager job, WRAL reported.
Todd resigns after four months. To fill his vacancy, the board appoints Jaiyeoba as interim town manager for a second time.
During a work session, Todd addressed the mayor and board: “Recent developments involving a serious personnel matter have led me to a point where I can no longer continue in this role,” he said. “I was placed in a position where I was expected to take action that I believe is unethical and inappropriate according to NC general statutes.”
Todd said he was resigning effective immediately and walked out of the room. That day, he didn’t offer any further explanation of the “personnel matter” that was the impetus for his resignation.
The board again appointed Jaiyeoba to serve as interim town manager.
Assistant town manager Kellianne Williams resigns; Todd says the board had asked him to place Williams on leave without cause.
WRAL reported that Todd said he was “given a directive by the Board of Commissioners to place the Assistant Town Manager on Administrative Leave with no grounds to do so.” Todd told WRAL that Williams was an “exemplary employee” and he decided to resign rather than put her on leave.
The commissioners and Todd are legally barred from discussing the specifics of Williams’s work performance, but Commissioner Shannon Baxter told WRAL “the board never asked [Todd] to operate outside of his contract.”
Zebulon residents launch a petition to replace the entire town board.
The petitioners asked commissioners who are not up for election this fall—Baxter, Amber Davis, and Jessica Harrison—to resign by June 2 so a special election to choose their replacements could be held concurrently with the regular November 4 municipal election and every sitting commissioner could be replaced.
If Baxter, Davis, and Harrison did not resign (which they have not), the petitioners urged York to remove them “for just cause,” citing the rejection of the Zebulon South rezoning application, Moore and Todd’s resignations, Jaiyeoba’s appointments, the board’s “failure to fill the Town Clerk position for more than two years, impacting transparency and operations,” and the resulting backlog of missing public meeting minutes.
“This is a genuine grassroots movement born from deep dissatisfaction with the current state of town governance,” the petitioners wrote. “Each signature is a clear message to the Board of Commissioners that the widespread erosion of public trust is a crisis that demands immediate and decisive action.
The petition has collected 423 signatures.
Commissioner Beverly Clark resigns.
Before tendering her resignation, Clark stood up during a board meeting and declared she had signed the petition calling for the board’s removal. She said a group of her colleagues had formed a voting bloc to effectively block her from getting anything done: “I can hardly get a motion seconded, much less approved by the board, no matter how good it is for the people,” she said.
“There is no doubt in my mind that this board is not interested in what’s best for the people, but are mainly interested in their own power, promoting their own political careers, and using their elected platform to do it.”
She called on Baxter, Davis, and Harrison to resign and for the town to elect “a whole new board and mayor.”
Commissioner Jessica Harrison launches her mayoral campaign.
Harrison did not acknowledge the upheaval in town government in her campaign announcement. Instead, she focused on the town’s rapid growth and promised to meet the moment with “steady, capable leadership.”
Todd announces he’s running for mayor.
His campaign website emphasizes a need to restore public trust in town leadership: “As your Mayor, I will aim to restore faith and integrity to our town government by championing three core principles: truth, transparency, and togetherness,” he writes.
York quietly files for re-election.
The mayor does not appear to have a campaign website and has not responded to INDY’s interview requests.
Former commissioner Clark endorses Todd at his campaign launch party.
“I watched Gilbert when he stepped up to serve as town manager,” Clark said. “I saw his natural leadership and his deep care for the town. But it became clear that the board didn’t want an independent leader. They mistakenly believed that when they hired Gilbert, they hired a puppet to get the control they wanted. … Gilbert was asked to do something that wasn’t right, and he refused. … He chose principle over position.”
Shannon Baxter and Larry Loucks join the mayoral race.
Baxter does not appear to have a campaign site or to have made an official campaign announcement, but she filed her paperwork with the Wake Elections Board.
Loucks is a former one-term commissioner who served 29 years on the town Board of Adjustment, 25 of them as chair. He does not appear to have a campaign website, but wrote on Facebook that he feels qualified to be mayor after his previous public service and 42 years spent in Zebulon. Loucks happens to be the only registered Republican in the race; the other candidates are registered Democrats.
And that just about brings us up to the present day. A few other noteworthy developments from this summer: a group called Move Zebulon Forward created a website in May encouraging people to vote and promising to convene community discussions about the upcoming election.
Another group, the Zebulon Citizens Advisory Partnership, formed on Facebook in June and began hosting community meetings about town government issues.
As of earlier this month, 6,881 people are registered to vote in Zebulon. The candidates’ first campaign finance reporting deadline is July 25. Election day is November 4.
Chloe Courtney Bohl is a Report for America corps member. Follow her on Bluesky or reach her at [email protected]. Comment on this story at [email protected].