By Miles Layton

Edenton Town Council is not happy with Councilman Aaron Coston.

A motion of censure — that’s serious, so it did not come out of thin air — will be introduced at Tuesday’s council meeting.

Story’s photo shows an empty seat where Coston sits.

The draft resolution acknowledges Coston “is deemed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.” It adds that “such charges undermine public confidence in the integrity of the Town Council, compromises the effective operation of the Town of Edenton and violates the expectations of the electorate.”

Coston would remain on the council and keep the duties and powers required by state law. The resolution would not remove him from office.

Read our story here.

I’ll say the quiet part out loud: Coston’s done on council.

If the resolution is approved, it would formally censure Coston and limit his role in town government after he declined to resign following criminal charges.

The proposed resolution says the council’s action is prompted by Coston’s refusal to step down. If adopted, it would express the council’s “strongest official disapproval” of the conduct that led to the charges.

The resolution contains three provisions:

• Censure: The council would formally condemn and reprimand Coston for the conduct resulting in the charges.
• Removal from boards: Coston would be immediately removed from all internal and external committees, boards and commissions on which he represents the town.
• Loss of privileges: For the remainder of his current term, Coston would be barred from using discretionary, non-statutory council privileges. These include travel allowances and official representation of the town at public events, as well as any other non-statutory benefits.

I’ll say again — Coston is innocent until proven guilty. And while I may take flak for saying this, I like Coston – he has always represented the underserved and spoke out for everyday folks who need their voices heard on council. However, the criminal charges, well, that’s hard to ignore, with the last round being a bit unusual too.

A motion of censure like this — well, it’s not looking too good for him.

As for Ward 3 – if this motion passes, censure would, for all practical purposes, reduce Coston’s effectiveness as a member of the council.

If Coston decides to resign, the council would need to appoint someone to fill the Ward 3 seat for the remainder of Coston’s term – less than three years.

Much like the guessing game of who will be running for president in 2028, I wonder who council could appoint to fill the Ward 3 seat. As with anything else this town does, same as anywhere else, I suspect that unofficial discussion is already underway among the talking heads who have influence in this community.

I don’t sit at the cool kids’ table, never have, so I don’t know what names are being discussed.

I think we have a good council and a top-notch mayor; if a vacancy opens, the council needs someone who says a hard NO to raising taxes and YES to reducing the cost of government.  We need a council member who asks hard questions about proposals that, while they may have support now, may falter in time.

I hope the council appoints someone who will ask tough questions: Why is the town underwriting Carli C’s grocery store, which is owned by a company with 33 stores across the Carolinas?

We need a council member who will read the Town’s incentive agreement with Carli C’s and say the quiet part out loud — why are there no stated metrics for success? If the store’s sales fall flat because the mainstream media didn’t scare the town into panic-buying toilet paper and cupcakes before an imagined snowstorm or an Iranian cyberattack, then what?

Why was Hotel Hinton being stalled again by the same developer who has burned the town before? I wish we knew! And would a uniform architectural design policy raise costs for businesses hoping to set up shop in Edenton? For the record, I’m not a big fan of modernist architecture either, so pushing aesthetically pleasing design policy that conforms with existing styles may preserve our unique culture and identity and enhance property values – to some degree — is a good idea. That said, whether Colonial Williamsburg or Edenton, if I want to buy a Domino’s pizza, I don’t care if the restaurant doesn’t have Greek-inspired columns at the front of the store.  

And this may piss some people off, but maybe appoint someone who has lived in town for more than 15 minutes — that way, the dog that is registered to vote in Virginia won’t take its fame to the next level by moving to Edenton to seek a seat on council.

Last note — we need someone who loves Edenton to step up!