Mayor pro tem punched council member and got town to pay legal bills, NC audit finds
A small town in Eastern North Carolina paid the legal fees for an elected official accused of assaulting a fellow council member, state investigators said.
The same official pushed the town of Hertford to overspend on street lights and incurred thousands of dollars in “questionable expenses” using town funds, according to a report released Tuesday by the Office of the State Auditor.
The report was focused on fraud, waste and abuse in the town of 2,300 residents.
Councilman Quentin Jackson, the former mayor pro tem at the center of the allegations, did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on Tuesday.
The current mayor also did not respond.
In a letter to the auditor’s office attached to the report, the current council acknowledged the town’s operational shortcomings and said it has taken steps toward better accountability.
“The town takes the state auditor’s findings seriously and is actively working to identify the root causes of the identified issues and determine the most appropriate corrective actions,” the council said.
Throwing punches
Hertford sits off the Perquimans River on the coast of North Carolina, about 17 miles south of Elizabeth City.
At least 10 complaints from residents questioning local leadership prompted the state audit, which included a review of town council meetings, town policies, contract bid proposals, credit card statements and emails.
According to the report, the town council consists of the mayor and four council members — one of whom is chosen as vice chair and mayor pro tem each year.
Jackson was selected as the mayor pro tem in 2019, the town said.
In October 2018, Jackson was accused of hitting then-councilman James Sidney Eley in the head after a meeting, WTKR reported. Jackson, then 33, told WAVY it was “all self defense.”
A partition was erected after the altercation to separate Jackson and the 72-year-old Eley during future town council meetings, The Virginian-Pilot reported.
During that time, the audit found Jackson received $3,000 from the town to put toward the cost of his defense. He ultimately pleaded guilty to simple assault in December 2019.
Jackson never forfeited his town council position — despite being required to do so under the town charter, investigators said.
In its response, the current town council said they were “shocked by this incident” but were never informed about the town paying his legal fees. The decision reportedly came during a closed session that was not attended by the town attorney or the council member who Jackson was accused of assaulting.
State law does permit local governing bodies to pay for the defense of members accused of wrongdoing in the course of their duties.
But the council said the majority of its current members think “the use of this provision to fund the former mayor pro tem’s defense for assaulting a fellow councilman to be a grotesque perversion of the law’s intent.”
In a statement to McClatchy News on Wednesday, current Mayor Pro Tem R. Ashley Hodges said there are “very few options at our disposal” in terms of removing Jackson from office.
“In my opinion Councilman Jackson should repay the town and resign from office immediately, but since he’s decided to run for another term I imagine he thinks he’s above the law,” Hodges said. “I will press our governing board to take whatever actions we can, but without assistance from the District Attorney’s office our options are severely limited.”
‘Questionable expenses’
Jackson and the former town council are also accused of overpaying for street lights.
Instead of choosing the “lowest responsible, responsive bidder” as required by law, investigators said, the council ignored legal advice and awarded the contract to the highest bidder, which was also the mayor pro tem’s preferred bidder.
Jackson was also reportedly heard saying his vendor would “get the business” during a council meeting ahead of the vote.
“As a result, the town may have overpaid by as much as $25,749 for the project,” investigators said.
The state auditor’s office also looked in to Jackson’s use of town funds, finding he used $11,671 on “questionable expenses” by failing to show they were for a “valid town purpose.”
Investigators said Jackson received $1,000 in tuition reimbursement for classes he took at Fayetteville Technical Community College while pursuing a law degree — a benefit reserved for full-time employees of the town.
The current town council acknowledged a lack of proper oversight allowed for overspending and said they plan to ask Jackson to pay back some of that money.
“Although the town is limited by both its own resources and actions taken by the previous town council, we intend to make every effort to protect our community from this type of waste, fraud and abuse in the future,” the council said.
This story was originally published August 17, 2021 at 4:57 PM with the headline "Mayor pro tem punched council member and got town to pay legal bills, NC audit finds."
