Pink Hill's Attorney William Gray steps down - Who is next?
As of last week, William Gray is no longer Pink Hill’s Town Attorney. Gray, a lawyer from Deep Run, was appointed by Mayor Yvonne Deatherage in April, and voted on by Commissioners Penny Murphy and James Quinn with Pete Fantini as a dissenting vote.
Gray works in wealth management and the intense social media posting about the antics of Pink Hill’s mayor and commissioners has led to his employer withdrawing its support of Gray as the Pink Hill attorney.
“I hope I was able to leave Pink Hill better than I found it,” said Gray.
Turnover
Since the unfortunate death of Mayor Carol Sykes, Pink Hill has experienced a great deal of turnover. Commissioner Mike Hill was initially appointed as Syke’s replacement, but after a tumultuous meeting where he appeared to threaten Fantini with a gavel, he resigned. There were t-shirts and social media posts for weeks saying, “Don’t gavel me, Mike.”
In the aftermath, a town clerk, an assistant town clerk, the fire chief, two town water employees, a public works employee, the CPA, the auditor, a mayor, and two town attorneys have resigned or retired.
After Mayor Hill’s resignation, Quinn and Murphy appointed current Mayor Yvonne Deatherage, with Fantini dissenting again. Fantini claimed no other people were discussed or selected for a vote. Things quickly escalated when as one of the first acts as mayor, Deatherage worked with the NC ALE board to negate the recent voter referendum where the people of Pink Hill voted to approve a mixed beverage ordinance. The vote was invalidated because the town did not meet the threshold of registered voters for the referendum.
After the referendum was overturned, Pink Hill’s attorney at the time, George Jenkins, retired early. Mayor Deatherage selected William Gray, and his appointment was confirmed by Murphy and Quinn. Again, Fantini dissented.
At the most recent commissioner meeting, Fantini requested an independent investigation because he has been accused of being the reason town employees have left. Mayor Deatherage has also been accused of being the reason a town employee has left.
Upcoming town election
The 2023 Municipal Election has brought further drama to the town. Mayor Yvonne Deatherage attempted to challenge her mayoral opponent’s ability to be on the ballot due to questions of his residency. The challenge was dismissed because it wasn’t filed in a timely manner. Two weeks later a hearing was held at the Lenoir County Board of Elections for a protest Deatherage filed against opponent Mike Horne’s candidacy. The protest was heard and dismissed.
In addition to battles at town hall, social media has played a large part in exposing the division of the town. The next Pink Hill Commissioners’ meeting is October 17, 2023 at 7:00 pm. In the upcoming municipal election, incumbent Yvonne Deatherage will face Mike Horne for mayor. The commissioner race to replace James Quinn has Michael Whitfield and Joshua Eing as candidates. Pink Hill does not have early voting.
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