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Residents urge New Bern council to appoint Darlene Brown to vacant Ward 6 seat
Summary
During public comment, multiple New Bern residents asked the City Council to fill the vacant Ward 6 alderman seat with Darlene Brown, saying the ward has lacked direct representation for roughly 10 months and could remain unrepresented until the next election. No formal council vote was recorded in the transcript.
During the public-comment period, residents urged the New Bern City Council to appoint Darlene Brown to the vacant Ward 6 alderman seat, saying the ward has lacked direct representation for nearly 10 months and could be unrepresented until the next election.
The request came from several speakers who described the vacancy as a practical and symbolic problem for Ward 6 residents. Carol Kaspersky, a resident of Pine Valley Drive, asked the council to "put Darlene Brown in temporarily so that we can have Auburn's representation on this board," citing Brown's local experience. Thomas Hicks Frist Junior, a New Bern Ward 6 resident, described the vacancy as "taxation without representation," saying he and other residents feel denied a direct voice in city government. Corey Hunter, a Ward 1 resident, noted the role of an alderman in "legislative functions, budget oversight, and public engagement" and said the ward has not had active representation "for nearly the past 10 months."
Speakers highlighted why interim appointment matters now: they said an appointed alderman would restore a direct channel for constituent concerns, help during hurricane season when residents want a named contact, and encourage younger residents to remain civically engaged. Carol Kaspersky outlined Brown's background, saying Brown served as executive director of Partners in Education for 12½ years, worked in marketing at the local chamber for five years, and has recent involvement with arts and cancer‑related nonprofit efforts; those qualifications were presented as reasons she should be appointed. Other commenters linked the vacancy to broader questions about local accountability and inclusion.
The requests were made during public comment; the transcript contains a direct request that a motion be made to appoint Darlene Brown but does not record the council making such a motion or taking a vote during the portion of the meeting provided. The council did not record a formal decision or directive on the appointment in the available transcript excerpts.
Residents who spoke urged the council to act promptly. Supporters stressed that leaving the seat vacant through the next election would leave Ward 6 without a council representative for an extended period and could weaken constituent services and disaster response coordination.
