Jennifer Willet appointed to fill unexpired alderman term
Board approves nomination with 3-1 vote
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
Jennifer Willet is sworn in as a Black Mountain alderman, March 9, by mayor Don Collins. The board appointed Willet to fill the seat vacated by the passing of Carlos Showers.
A vacant Black Mountain alderman seat was filled, March 9, during the board’s regular monthly meeting.
Jennifer Willet, who was sworn in by Mayor Don Collins following the meeting, was appointed to fill the unexpired term of Carlos Showers, who passed away Jan. 27.
The seat was originally occupied by Collins, who was re-elected as alderman in 2015. Showers was appointed to the position after Collins was elected mayor in 2017 and continued to serve until succumbing to pancreatic cancer.
N.C. General Statute 160A-63 dictates that vacancies in municipal governments are to be “filled by appointment of city council.” The board announced in its February meeting that it would accept notice of interest forms from residents seeking to fill the position.
The Town received 11 forms prior to the Feb. 24 deadline.
Alderman Larry Harris nominated Zoning Board of Adjustment Chair Cheryl Milton for the seat, citing her “extensive record” of serving on Town boards and commissions, before addressing public concerns about the selection.
“The question on the minds of a lot of people is the fact that, very often in public meetings, Cheryl has had some contentious behavior,” Harris said. “Now, that’s not something that hasn’t happened on the board of alderman, as well. But, it’s something that a lot of members of the public have expressed concerns about.”
Harris added that he’d spoken privately to Milton about the matter before reaffirming her nomination.
“It’s my assessment that Cheryl has a great deal of potential to serve the Town well, if she can show the community and the board that she can serve in a manner consistent with the way we hope to present ourselves in public meetings,” Harris said.
Vice Mayor Maggie Tuttle responded that she had “wrestled with this quite a bit,” before adding that she had a different nominee in mind. Harris was the lone vote to appoint Milton, with Tuttle, Ryan Stone and Tim Raines voting “no.”
Tuttle then nominated Willet, who participated in the Town’s inaugural Citizen Academy in 2018 before being appointed to the planning board. Without further discussion, the nomination of Willet was approved 3-1, with the lone dissenting vote coming from Stone.
Following the vote, Raines addressed the challenges he faced in appointing a new board member.
“We’ve been given the unenviable task of trying to replace Carlos Showers for the remainder of his term,” he said. “There’s really no good way to do this under the current system. Leaving it up to the board is not an ideal way to do it. We had many qualified candidates and many of whom are my neighbors and friends I’ve known for years. So this was kind of a nightmare for me; I had a lot of conflicting opinions about a lot of different candidates.”
Raines was appointed to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of Jeremie Konegni in 2018.
Stone thanked Raines for his comments.
“I don’t think that it’s fair or right for this board to have to pick this; I think citizens should choose because that’s the foundation of our republic,” he said. “I’ve struggled with this too, and my votes tonight are not an indication of any thoughts I have for Cheryl or Jennifer. I have great respect for them both, they just weren’t my preferred candidates out of those who applied.”
Stone encouraged those who expressed interest in the position to pursue seats in the election this fall.
Four terms will be up for re-election in November, following the 2019 passage of Senate Bill 138 by the State Legislature. The bill, sponsored by Senator Chuck Edwards, moved all Black Mountain municipal elections to even years, giving current elected officials an extra year in office. Black Mountain was one of four Buncombe County municipalities to change election cycles.
Elections for the City of Asheville were moved exclusively to even years with the 2018 passage of Senate Bill 813, also sponsored by Senator Edwards. Montreat, Black Mountain and Biltmore Forest requested the change the following year.
Three residents spoke out against the change in the election cycle during the citizen comment period of the Black Mountain board’s March meeting. Marilyn Sobanksi read a resolution, passed Feb. 18 by the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, affirming the right of citizens to vote in local elections.
Seats currently occupied by Willet, Harris, Tuttle and Raines will be up for election this fall.