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A2 THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 1,2020 BROWN Continued from Al said. “I think that’s why the citizens wanted change.” A leading member of the Citizens for the Preserva tion and Growth of Hert ford, Kay Matthews put the movement and the moment of triumph in perspective. “With a cache of such qualified candidates, it was not difficult to pool their talents as we worked to gether to accomplish Mayor Brown’s vision of ‘Unity in the Community,”’ she said. “Mayor Brown, along with Councilmen Hodges and Mimlitsch, were unified in their vision for Hertford and worked diligently going door to door giving citizens a message they were ready to hear, a message of hope, unity, and making Hertford a better place for All of its citizens, not just a few. They were working from the heart, and that made all the difference.” An organized campaign spread the message of unity for the betterment of town. “With Connie Brothers as our group’s cheerlead er and Hodges’ technical expertise and Mimlitsch’s ingenuity, we were able to reach out to each citizen with Mayor Brown’s mes sage by going door to door, sometimes more than once, and making phone calls to encourage people to vote. We were unified and believed in our candi dates,” Matthews said. Brothers added, “Every door that could be knocked on - we did it. We gave them the information, provided transportation to take you to the polls. If you were not registered, we would help Brown’s campaign wasn’t just about riding in parades, but going door to door, making phone calls and doing whatever was necessary to make her message heard about accountability, integrity, transparency and unity. you to get registered. We had a well-rounded group, very strong, who went door to door, made phone calls. We had our meetings. We had fun meetings - I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. That helps to make it easy and make us all of one accord - unity, transparency and integrity.” Think about that for a moment - a movement of made up of many stripes; the same revolutionary spir it that founded a nation. If only our country’s leaders would to cease and desist with their ongoing civil war, but instead serve the people more than political parties. “Washington, DC would do well to take note as to what can be accom plished when people with different political and cultural backgrounds ac tually work together as a team for the betterment of all people,” Matthews said. But let the Perquiman’s Weekly’s step back a mo ment to learn more about Brown as this story unfolds. Earlier this year, when Brown, 69, retired from a 38-year career with the fed eral government, she moved to the house in Belvidere where her mother was bom. She later bought a house on North Front Street. Brown’s career with the federal gov ernment included an em bassy postings in Trinidad and Tobago. One of Brown’s key sup porters, Murielle Harmon, added this surprise about the mayor’s background during a recent interview with the Perquiman’s Week ly “She can do it - be a great mayor because of her pre vious experiences,” Har mon said. “She worked for the government and was an investigator for the In ternal Revenue Service in ternationally. She believes in two things to this day: good communication and procedure. She comes from that background, knows it works and has traveled to countries where they didn’t even understand English, but she made them under stand what she wanted she needed, so she is very big on procedure. Our town ... well, we have been lacking in that. She’s going to get it right. We know that.” True to form, in the weeks since Brown and a new council have taken office, procedures regard ing public records requests have been formalized and email addresses for public officials been added to the system. Such means speak volumes about how the Town Council views the importance of transparen cy. Unlike many politicos who seek office, Brown was initially a reluctant candi date who has said publicly and privately that she had never thought about run ning for mayor. Fortunate ly, God had other plans for Brown and Hertford. “Initially, I know Mayor Brown struggled with the decision to run for mayor,” Matthews said. “She came by the house one day, and told us that after much prayer she was thinking about running for mayor and asked what we thought. Without any reservation we said it was a great idea. Be ing a close neighbor, you get to know the “real’ person and we knew she had the skills, integrity, and heart for the job.” Wasn’t just the Hertford community who was paying close attention to Brown’s bid for mayor, but her fam ily as well. “She loves her family - loves her family - loves her grandchildren,” said Connie’s mother, Vanora Brothers, who is also kin to Brown. “Her election - it was a historical mo ment. She had her grand daughters with her at the Perquimans Board of Elections when she filed to run for mayor. They were there when she won too. That was a historical moment for her. Now, her sons were there the day of the election -very very im portant for her. Everyone was there celebrating to gether. She loves her fam ily. She loves her family.” Vanora Brothers said Brown’s election was a mo ment to be cherished. “That’s something that we have long been wait ing for and needed,” she said. “Mayor Brown will make a change. She has a lot of insight and wisdom. She’s been around all over the world. She knows just we need. There will be a change. I do think she is ready to tackle the job. She sees what is lacking. She knows what we need. With her power, she’s going to put it into play.” Staff writer Mites Lay- ton can be reached at mlay- ton@ncweeklies. com TRIP Continued from Al ability for revenue expen ditures, an action taken to help move Hertford for ward for all citizens,” May or Farnell Brown said. According to Town Man ager Pam Hurdle, Town Hall has budgeted for $25,000 travel - a figure that exceeds the combined total of what Edenton, Chowan and Perquimans counties have set aside for travel ex penses - $14,500. Town Council has spent $14,000 for travel so far this fiscal year 2019/20. Perquimans County Commission’s travel bud get $6,000 for 2019/20 while Chowan County Com mission’s travel budget is around $3,000. Edenton Town Council’s total travel budget is $5,500. Jackson and Felton at tended City Summit, a National League of Cities’ conference that the organi zation’s website describes as offering local leaders an opportunity to collab orate on solutions to the common challenges facing America’s cities. Keynote speakers for the conference included city council leaders from large cities and Common, a Grammy Award winning Hip Hop artist. Conference took place between Nov. 20 and November 23 at the Henry B. Gonzalez’ Con vention Center. Within hours of the Per quimans Weekly’s Public Records request made Dec. 23, Town Hall provided bank statements with cred it card receipts associated with the trip. To view this information, see the story on the Daily Advance’s web page. According to a bank statement with transac tions posted between Nov. 9 and Nov. 26, Jackson spent $1,997 for costs as sociated with the trip that did not include air fare, conference registration or hotel fees. Of that total, there is a $1,382 pm-chase Nov. 9 from Apple.com that spurred an inquiry and an additional public records request from the Perqui mans Weekly to uncover what Jackson bought. If any information is re leased after the Perquim ans Weekly’s print edition was published, the answers to those questions will be added to the online version of the story posted to the Daily Advance website. According to a bank statement with transac tions posted between Nov. 4 and Nov. 26, Felton spent $1,882 for costs as sociated with the trip that includes registration and air fare. According to Town Hall’s travel package form dated Aug. 20, Jackson was the only signatory authorizing his trip to San Antonio. Two other signatures were marked out in the Town Council approval section on the form. Jackson’s travel package form lists the Marriott’s Residence Inn as where he’ll be staying, the price of his conference registration ($960) and price of airfare ($512). Jackson purchased his plane ticket in Aug. 30, so the Perquimans Weekly filed an additional public records request seeking Town Council’s minutes from August so as to un cover more about when the trip may have been ap proved. The newspaper has also asked for Town Coun cil’s current travel policy so as to learn more about the procedures needed to ap prove such trips. According to documents dated Nov. 4 from Town Hall, Jackson not Felton was the only signature on a travel package form au thorizing her to attend the conference. Other than listing pur pose of the trip as the NLC City Summit conference, the form is blank when it comes to Felton’s travel dates, hotel reservations and means of transporta tion. She purchased a plane ticket to San Antonio on Nov. 4. A day after Felton’s trav el package form was signed Nov. 4, she was defeated in her bid for council and Jackson lost his bid for mayor in Hertford’s munici pal election. The conference’s reg istration total cost was $1,635 - with Jackson’s registration ($960) and Felton’s registration ($675). Registration fees did not in clude hotel costs. Felton’s initial registra tion fee was $475 - a rate assessed to a first-time conference attendee. She paid an additional fee of $200 to attend a side event held during the conference -$675 total in registration fees. As a member of the Na tional League of Cities, Jackson was charged the standard rate of $760 for registration, plus an addi tional fee of $200 to attend a side event held during the conference - $960 total. Jackson did not utilize the conference’s $650 discount registration price. Officials who attended the conference could pay more to attend additional events. For example, Jackson and Felton each paid a $200 activity fee to attend the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials - $400 total. Created in 1970 to represent the interests of African American elected officials, NBC-LEO’s ob jectives include increasing African American partici pation on the NLC’s steer ing and policy committees to ensure that policy and program recommendations reflect African American concerns and benefit their communities. During the San Antonio conference, Jackson was recognized by the NBC- LEO for his service as Re gional Director of Region 18. On Aug. 30, Jackson purchased his plane ticket for $512 while Felton paid $718 when she bought her ticket Nov. 4 - total airfare for both councilors cost $1,230 - a figure that does not include associated costs and fees. Delta Air Lines charged Jackson and Felton $70 each any time they were assessed excess baggage fees. Felton paid $60 for airport parking. Jackson and Felton stayed five nights between Nov. 19 and Nov. 23 at the Marriott’s Residence Inn near Alamo Plaza. Total cost for the room was $750 or about $150 per night to stay at the hotel that is lo cated less than a quarter mile away from the Alamo. After the conference on Nov. 24, Felton purchased a HubTurbo portable charger for $129.99 along with sport earphones - $24.99. Jack- son purchased $140 worth of tech from the same store on Nov. 24. A few other expendi tures from Jackson’s trip include a $30.95 grilled ribeye steak, $2 serving of macaroni and cheese, both washed down with a $3.95 glass of lemonade from the Yard House, an upscale restaurant close to the Marriott hotel where Jackson and Felton stayed. Total meal was around $41 with tip being about $9 to a server named John Paul C. Inadvertently included within the documents sent by Town Hall to the Perqui mans Weekly was a $400 bill from a 2-night stay in Octo ber when Jackson spent the night at Hyatt Place, a hotel located in Columbia, SC. Staff writer Miles Lay- ton can be reached at mlayton@ncweeklies. com HISTORIC Continued from Al ; in western North Carolina who play a foot-stomping blend of bluegrass, country, LAYTON Continued from Al on January 15. The exhibit will include paintings and photographs of houses, buildings and historic sites ■ in our area, as well as her- • itage arts such as quilting and weaving. The drop-off dates for the show are January 9, 10 and 11 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is open to non-members for a fee of $15 for up to 3 pieces if you have historic pieces Lyou would like to share ' with the community. The : Featured Artist will be Nora Crouch. Please join and roots rock n’ roll. Original tunes, new and old favorites, and a few surprises, served up as only The Grassabillies can do it. Tickets are $15 and go on sale at Carolina Trophy PHOTO BY PAM HADDEN Three-month-old Lilly Anne Jackson dressed just like Santa for her photo moment at the Holiday Island Civic League’s annual breakfast with the big man. us for the opening recep- 16 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. For tion on Thursday, January more information, call the on January 20th. You don’t want to miss this great group! Did You Know.... That when automobiles became prevalent, filling stations sprung up on many Hertford corners. In 1940 Bill and Viv’s was on the corner of Church and Grubb Streets. Bill and Vivian Matthews were proprietors of this Esso dealership. The building, gallery at 252-426-3041 or visit our website at www. perquimansarts.org. Throughout the month of March, PAL will have artists working in the gallery. You might see a demonstration of painting, quilting, jewelry making or other types of work. If you are an artist and you would be interested in sharing your talents, please contact the gallery at 252-426-3041. Once we have confirmed dates for all of the artists, a schedule of demos will be posted. Staff writer Miles Lay- ton can be reached at mlayton@ncweeklies.com although no longer has a business in it, still sits on that corner today! Check out our website P The ERQUIMANS ,^ WE EK LY (USPS428-080) Vol. 88 No. 1 Published Each Wednesday A publication of Adams Publishing Group Established 1934 111W. Market St., Hertford, NC 27944 Robin L. Quillon Publisher Miles Layton Editor Bev Alexander. Advertising Representative Phone 252-426-5728 ■ Fax 252-4264625 Email: perquimansweekly@ncweeklies.com Subscription Rate Home delivery. $35 per year POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Perquimans Weekly, Hertford, NC 27944 at historichertfordinc.org or carolinamoontheater. org for more details! Follow us on Facebook!
The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, N.C.)
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Jan. 1, 2020, edition 1
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