BY MILES LAYTON
PLYMOUTH — Rather than dance around the obvious, Monday’s meeting was a clash between residents and Plymouth Town Council that was borderline theater and chaos.
If you’ll recall from our previous story, many people attended the meeting, and as decorum began to shake, there was a recess followed by a shortened session that allowed for the approval of a few business items. In the wake of Monday’s meeting, one prominent public official described Plymouth Town Council as a “dumpster fire.”
Council has not yet issued an official statement regarding the incident or whether additional safety measures will be implemented for future meetings.
Though the Albemarle Observer formally reached out to Mayor Brian Roth, he did not comment. We sent an email that was forwarded on Thursday from Town Hall to Roth’s council email account — that way it wouldn’t get caught up in some weird spam filter. Moreover, by sending it through Town Hall, we could confirm that the email would be sent to him. We didn’t hear anything from Roth by Friday, and it’s Saturday morning when this story was being written — nothing then either. Tried calling too – Roth’s phone’s message Town Hall mailbox was full.
The Albemarle Observer reached out to Council member Crystal Davis for comment — she responded. More on that in a minute.
As our readers know – Roth and Davis are candidates for mayor.
‘Who Wants To Go To Make It Spicey’
Based on social media posts, there was a sense that Monday’s meeting would be well-attended. Here’s what was on the agenda.
There were so many people at the meeting that citizens overflowed into the hallway. And at least 25 participants were watching via Zoom.
To say it was a contentious meeting is an understatement. And there were implied threats to Council members posted to social media prior to the meeting.
Posts below come from Plymouth NC, a popular Facebook page that, interestingly enough, includes a Washington County Magistrate, Micki Dail, as an administrator.
Though sharing some of these posts, the Albemarle Observer is withholding the names of those people who commented about these matters on Plymouth NC, as they are not necessarily considered public figures.
From one post thread, “We are definitely are going to have security. You think it would really go that far that I should wear a bullet proof vest? I know it’s bad, is it really that dangerous? Do you really think it had to come to this? Keep a recorder in your pocket and when someone calls you names stop and ask them to speak their full name for the recording as you would love to send them a harassment notice.
Sadly, yes I do believe Washington County is just that bad. All these new folks moving in is part of a bigger agenda to flip the majority democratic vote in the next election.These people are scary and openly make threats...It would be nice to have some local veterans or an off-duty police officer attend the next few meetings just to profile and maintain some sense of security and safety. I agree with the comments on the Plymouth NC page are way to comfortable and often times slanderous. I am not kidding, I would wear a bulletproof vest under my clothes and carry if you can for protection at all times. These MAGA folks have been made some threats to me for making comments about diversity, equity and inclusion for Washington County.”
Another person commented, “Anyone know when the next town meeting is and who wants to go to make it spicey. I’m talking block the doors so these people can’t just run away and are forced to answer the hard questions. If they are not willing to give us the answers we seek, they then lose their seat. It is not impossible to fire them no matter what they say. If they can’t face the public scrutiny, they shouldn’t be there anyway and they can take their family members that they put in cushy positions with them when they go. We loud because of you and your actions Mr. Mayor and Town Council. 20 years is enough of putting up with less and making our town a magnet for low income able bodied people that will only bring problems. No more new public housing! The ratio is already bad for the town. I don’t care what color anyone is, I feel we all don’t want to live in a corrupt place and want a good education and safe streets that aren’t filled with holes and trash. Time to get it together before we, the citizens, lose it all over these destructive people running things now. Don’t be fooled! They are getting rich off your struggles. They never had your best interests in mind or things wouldn’t have gotten this way.”
Davis said someone called her a “pig” during the. meeting and to add insult to injury, her daughter was in the audience.
One person posted, “A point Ms. Davis was making was there was someone in the audience who was calling her a pig and that after the meeting, someone confronted her, calling names. She also had an awareness of threats made on Plymouth NC Facebook webs. In that case, I’m sure she felt triggered.”
A public persona because of his candidacy for Town Council, John Shelton replied, “After the meeting, she (Davis) walked out alone and no one was around. I was half a block down the street talking to someone about a venture that was unrelated to the meeting. No one spoke to her (Davis) after the meeting because there was no one there. They went into a closed session and cleared the room. Everyone left. During the meeting, there were no slurs, no racial names, no one called her a pig. That whole story was fabricated to rile up people who watch Facebook live, but not the meetings.”
Davis issued a statement Thursday describing tense moments and safety concerns during Monday night’s council meeting, saying audience disruptions and verbal abuse left her feeling unsafe to continue. Echoing the Dan Bongino’s show habit of “showing receipts” – Davis’ full statement is posted at the end of this article.
She described being verbally attacked as soon as she entered the meeting room.
“People from the audience called me disgusting,” Davis said. “They did not know my daughter was in the audience.” She also alleged that individuals in attendance called her a “pig” and shouted racial slurs that were audible to Mayor Roth, who was presiding over the meeting.
Davis said that prior to Monday’s meeting, she received a text message referencing a comment posted on the Plymouth, N.C. Facebook page.
“Therefore, Councilwoman Teel and I were prepared for what was to come,” Davis stated.
Davis singled out one attendee, Wayne Pittman, who she said “was sitting in the front row, as he always does for the last few minutes of every meeting.” According to Davis, Pittman moved his chair into the middle of the floor in what she believed was “a political statement.”
Accounts vary as to whether Pittman, among others, could hear council members clearly. However, there is no dispute that Pittman moved his chair within a few feet of the council table to hear what council members were saying. It’s unclear as to whether Pittman has done that in the past.
Video of the meeting shows the council debating while Pittman remained seated in the center of the room.
Davis said she requested his removal but no police officers were present.
“The chief, nor any law enforcement, was present — we were told they were on a call,” Davis said.
Davis said the council recessed without removing him from the chamber.
“Mr. Pittman was never removed, and came back in after the recess and sat in the front row,” she said.
“For safety reasons I felt uncomfortable proceeding,” Davis concluded. She indicated that the council is working to arrange an additional meeting later this month under improved security conditions.
“Because of all the threats today, even towards the mayor, we have been in a lot of safety meetings to figure out how to have another meeting this month,” Davis said.
Was There A Quorum?
The question of whether Plymouth Town Council had a quorum has arisen since Monday’s meeting.
Folks who attended or tuned into the meeting know that Council members attending in person were Mayor Brian Roth and Councilwomen Davis, Mary Ann Byers, and Donsenia Teel — three council members plus the Mayor.
Albemarle Observer asked Town Hall if there was a quorum, which is defined as a majority of council members present to conduct business. If there were no quorum, any business conducted during that meeting would need another vote with a quorum present to count.
Town Manager Joanne Floyd said there was a quorum.
Davis added that she had confirmed with both the North Carolina League of Municipalities and the UNC School of Government that the mayor and three council members constitute a quorum.
Albemarle Observer too reached out via email and phone message to the NC League of Municipalities, but we have not heard anything back as yet.
Doesn’t matter – all the League would’ve done is confirm what I already know, since I’ve been covering local government meetings since the 1990s – what constitutes a quorum — there was a quorum at Monday’s meeting.
Council Member Davis’ Statement
Because of all the threats today, even towards the mayor we have been in alot of safety meetings to figure out how to have another meeting this month. I spoke with the league, and the UNC School of government — yes the mayor and 3 council members make a quorum. I want to formally make a statement in regards to the council meeting on Monday night. Prior to the meeting, I was sent a text message from a comment made on the Plymouth, NC Facebook page, therefore Councilwoman Teel and I were prepared for what was to come. What the video does not show, when I walked in people from the audience called me disgusting. Mr. Pittman was sitting in the front row, as he always does for the last few months of every meeting. Prior to Mr. Pittman putting his chair in the middle of the floor, which I believe was a political statement, people were calling me a pig from the audience. They did not know my daughter was in the audience. I asked him to be removed. The chief, nor any law enforcement was present, we were told they were on a call. If you watch the video, the mayor and his wife wanted to meeting to continue although he could hear the audience call out racial slurs. After the debate, as you can see from the video we were having while Mr. Pittman continued to sit in the middle of the floor, we recessed. Mr. Pittman was never removed, and came back in after the recess and sat in the front row. For safety reasons I felt uncomfortable proceeding.