The Zebulon Board of Commissioners can’t agree on who should fill the vacancy left by their colleague Beverly Clark, who resigned in early June. One thing they do seem to agree on is that there’s no rush to replace her.
At the board’s August 4 meeting, two of the remaining four commissioners voted to temporarily appoint Lucretia Moore to the seat until November, when Clark’s permanent replacement will be elected. The other two commissioners voted for a different candidate, Milton Robinson III.
Without discussing the candidates’ merits or attempting to reach a consensus, the commissioners postponed the appointment to their August 26 work session. But when they reconvened this week, nothing had changed; they were still split 2-2.
“Looks like we’re deadlocked again,” said mayor Glenn York, who was not allowed to vote on the matter.
“Is it possible,” asked commissioner Jessica Harrison, “for us to table this to the October meeting since the September meeting seems pretty full? Just a suggestion.”
Her colleagues agreed by a unanimous vote to punt the decision by six weeks to October 6. (By that time, Clark’s seat will have been vacant for more than four months.) As they were voting, Robinson, one of the appointee candidates, waved his hand from the audience as if he wanted to say something.
From the dais, Harrison said, “Just so we are clear, Milton had his hand up. … He did want to speak, but this is not the appropriate time.” Robinson did not speak and the meeting concluded.
Reached by INDY the next day, Robinson clarified that he had planned to withdraw his candidacy that night.
“I was gonna concede,” Robinson said. “At this point, we need leadership.”
INDY contacted the remaining four town commissioners—Shannon Baxter, Amber Davis, Jessica Harrison, and Quentin Miles—to ask them if they were aware Robinson had planned to withdraw and if they would still delay the appointment vote to October. None of them responded. Instead, town staff sent a written response from York. The mayor was noncommittal about whether the board will fill Clark’s seat any sooner:
“Milton Robinson has not provided any formal notice to the Clerk of the Board of his intention to withdraw his nomination,” the statement reads. “The Board has the ability to amend the agenda at its upcoming meetings to consider the appointment again. This decision is made at the pleasure of the board.”
Kristina Wilson is a professor of public law and government at the UNC School of Government, where she focuses on local government structure and board procedures. She says state statute requires town councils or commissions to fill their vacancies, but does not set a deadline.
“Technically speaking, they can take however long they’d like,” Wilson says. However, she adds that leaving a seat open for too long could get in the way of the government functioning as it should.
“I think we can see the practical difficulties right here: [they’re] not able to move the ball forward and actually fill a vacancy right now because [they] don’t have sufficient numbers,” she says. “Other things like that could come up where they have something on the table that the mayor can’t tie-break, and they’re deadlocked for months and months on end. I see that as the biggest problem in terms of not being able to get town business done because they don’t have the numbers they need.”
As is the case in some other Wake municipalities, Zebulon’s mayor is only allowed to vote to break a tie—more specifically, “when there are equal numbers of votes in the affirmative and in the negative.” York didn’t get to vote on the board appointment because it was structured as a ballot vote, with commissioners voting on people rather than voting in the affirmative or negative.
Wilson says the “non-voting” or “tie-break” mayor system can lead to imbalances of power on town councils and commissions. Sometimes it produces mayors who are very weak despite being the face and voice of the town, she says. Other mayors find ways outside of voting to take charge, using their title and influence to steer their fellow council or commission members’ decision-making.
“I’ve seen both versions of that, and I think both are dysfunctional in their own way,” Wilson says.
York seems to fall into the first camp. During board meetings, he is quiet and rarely initiates or participates in discussions about votes, projects, or appointments. Several people familiar with Zebulon’s town government have told INDY that York takes a hands-off approach. (INDY has contacted York several times to request an interview and has not received a response. He is seeking reelection this fall.)
Next month, the board is scheduled to vote on whether to approve a controversial subdivision on Old Bunn Road, town staff confirmed to INDY. Developers want to build 617 single-family homes on 160 acres near the highway on the eastern side of town that is currently farmland.
These sorts of votes are becoming more common in Zebulon, which has doubled in size in the last decade and needs new housing to keep up with the growth. When the town hosted a public hearing for the proposal in April, residents complained that it would create traffic congestion and erode some of the town’s historic charm. Town staff recommended approval of the project based on its alignment with Zebulon’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan, but the planning board unanimously recommended denial over infrastructure concerns. If the board is split on the Old Bunn Road vote, York is allowed to break the tie, town staff told INDY.
When Clark resigned earlier this summer, she called on her colleagues to do the same and for the town to elect “a whole new board and mayor.”
“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,” Clark said.
She was echoing the concerns of a petition created by Zebulon residents that garnered hundreds of signatures. The petition lists a series of high-profile departures in town government and a perceived lack of accountability among the reasons some residents have lost confidence in the board.
Since Clark resigned, the board has voted to extend interim town manager Taiwo Jaiyeoba’s contract through November, settle a lawsuit brought against the town by a developer whose proposal they rejected, and appoint 11 people to the town’s planning, parks and recreation, and sustainability boards.
York, Harrison, and Baxter are all running for mayor this year. Miles is seeking reelection and Davis’s term expires in 2027.
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].