Seat shaker: Councilman pushes for changes, but some clarity would be useful

Goldsboro City Councilman Bevan Foster may have a point. He may not.   

We remain undecided.

He is right about one thing -- there are many cities, in this state and others, where the mayor only gets to vote if the rest of the council is deadlocked. That's a fact. The mayor's vote breaks the tie.

Foster made a motion at the end of Monday night's meeting that the Goldsboro City Council adopt the same rule. As it stands now, the mayor gets a vote on any and all matters. So, it will be up to the council, after receiving some legal guidance, to decide this one.

We don't really have a well formed opinion on that either. It seems as reasonable for the council to employ one method or the other. If one council sets the rule one way, and a newly elected council later changes it because it suits that group better, so be it. We believe the business of the city will get done either way.  

But Foster said he made the motion because he believes that Mayor Chuck Allen holds too much sway over the council and Foster would like to see that change.

We'd like to know why he feels that way, specifically.

This is just the latest in a series of calls by Foster to shake things up. He was elected mayor pro tem earlier this year and then abruptly resigned the position a month early citing differences with the mayor and most of the council.

He has questioned many of the practices of the city council and some of the city's department heads, including the police chief.

He has also said he would like to see a requirement that the city's department heads hold four-year degrees. As of now, commensurate work experience is acceptable in those positions.  

That may also be a valid point, it may not. We don't know. We reached out to speak to him on that very topic weeks ago. He has yet to respond.

If Foster's intent is to be a defender for the voiceless, to challenge the status quo, to right what he sees as a legacy of wrongs, OK. It is his right as an elected official to take up that mantle if he wishes.

Others have painted him, however, as a rabble-rouser, as someone who doesn't understand the legal processes that govern council and board meetings, as an obstacle in the path of progress.

We aren't ready to decide which camp we're in. We'd like to speak to Mr. Foster, on or off the record, to gauge for ourselves where he is coming from.

In the spirit of objectivity, we also invite any of the other councilmen to come visit us and speak their minds on the state of the council or the job the mayor is doing.

As for the mayor, we believe he is doing a fine job so far. And, if we ever discover that he isn't, here is where you'll read about it.

Published in Editorials on December 4, 2017 10:51 PM