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Investigator: 'More likely than not' Commissioner Craver said 'there are too many blacks running the town'; board accepts report
Summary
An independent investigator told the Hope Mills Town Board that, on balance, it was "more likely than not" Commissioner Craver made a racial remark at a Sept. 11 encounter; the board voted to accept the investigator's findings and then moved into a closed session to discuss related personnel and legal matters.
An independent investigator told the Hope Mills Town Board that, on balance, it was "more likely than not" Commissioner Craver said "there are too many blacks running the town" during an encounter at a Waffle House on Sept. 11, and the board voted to accept his report at the meeting.
Mac McCarley, who said he was hired by the commission to determine whether the remark occurred, opened his presentation by declaring the case a "2 on 2 he said, she said," then gave his conclusion: "it is more likely than not that Miss Craver made that statement." McCarley told the board he relied on interviews, contemporaneous notes and a photograph taken at the restaurant to assess credibility.
McCarley said four people were present in two separate booths: Commissioner Craver and Ruth Farley in one, and Roy Young and Damon Ritz in the other. He reported that Young and Ritz gave materially identical accounts, that Young prepared a two-page written statement and that he photographed the scene to document Craver's presence. McCarley said Craver and Farley provided a different account. On motive and credibility, McCarley said Young and Ritz had little apparent motive beyond reporting what they perceived; he said a possible motive for Craver would be to avoid embarrassment or political fallout.
The mayor moved to accept McCarley's written report "as presented," and the motion was seconded. The mayor announced Mayor Pro Tem Dr. Ken Warner McCray voted in the affirmative and counted three votes in favor; Commissioner Kramer stated that he did not accept the report, saying, "Because it that's wrong." The transcript records one member absent from the meeting. The board accepted the investigator's report by majority vote.
After accepting the report, the board thanked McCarley for his work and then voted to go into a closed session "to consult with the attorney on matters within the attorney-client privilege" and "to discuss personnel matters," citing the North Carolina General Statutes governing closed sessions (N.C. Gen. Stat. a7 143-318.11(a)(3) and (a)(6)). The board voted to seal the closed-session minutes until their release would no longer frustrate the purpose of the session, and recorded that no action was taken during that closed session.
The meeting adjourned after the closed-session motion carried with the mayor pro tem voting remotely in the affirmative.
The report McCarley presented is a credibility determination based on interviews and contemporaneous materials; it does not record a criminal finding. The town did not announce further public steps in response to the report during the meeting.
