Matthew Livingston, interim city manager, was officially sworn in on Wednesday, as the new leader of the City’s government operations. Livingston brings nearly 25 years of experience in local government, having served as town manager in Rolesville, Wallace, and Ayden, and as the executive director of the Eastern Carolina Council of Governments.… read more »
Tag Archives: Charles Gaylor
Livingston Sworn in as Interim City Manager
City Council Approves Pay Raises for GPD
The Goldsboro City Council unanimously voted during Monday evening’s meeting to approve pay raises for the Goldsboro Police Department.… read more »
Salmon Released From Position as City Manager
The City of Goldsboro is searching for a new City Manager.
The Goldsboro City Council voted unanimously on Monday night to adopt a motion to release Tim Salmon from his role as City Manager. … read more »
Twitty Retires as Executive Director at Wayne Prep
Wayne Preparatory Academy is searching for a new Executive Director after former Executive Director John Twitty retired last week. … read more »
Local Leaders Share Thoughts Ahead of National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day
Law enforcement officers and first responders in Goldsboro and Wayne County have had no shortage of challenges thrown their way over the last several weeks, and local leaders shared their thoughts on the men and women who protect our community ahead of National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day on Tuesday.… read more »
Local Elected Officials Share Thoughts at Eggs and Issues Event
A panel of elected officials shared their thoughts on a number of issues both Goldsboro and Wayne County are currently facing during the “Eggs and Issues,” event held Thursday morning at the Maxwell Center.… read more »
Gaylor, New Council Members Sworn in on Monday Evening
The leadership of the City of Goldsboro welcomed multiple new faces on Monday evening as new mayor Charles Gaylor IV was sworn into office, along with four new members of the Goldsboro City Council at the council’s regularly scheduled meeting. … read more »
Recount for Goldsboro Mayoral Race to be Held on Monday
The recount is being held on Monday at the Wayne County Board of Elections office at 309 East Chestnut Street in Goldsboro. The public can view the recount on Zoom by using: … read more »
Results of Goldsboro Mayoral Race Could Take Weeks to Become Official
Following Tuesday’s general election, the Goldsboro Mayoral race has technically not been decided.
The unofficial results had Charles Gaylor receiving 49.98 percent of the vote while Raymond Smith Jr. received 49.76 percent of the vote. Unofficially, Gaylor won by nine votes.
The results could potentially take weeks to become official while write-in ballots, international absentee ballots and provisional ballots cast under the new VoterID law are reviewed.
Should a recount be necessary, it would take place toward the end of November.
Gaylor released the following statement through his social media pages on Wednesday saying, “Hey! Thank you so much for your support. We are excited to be 9 votes up at the end of Election Day. Please know, however, that this number will change some as the rest of the ballots are counted. There are still write-in ballots to review, international ballots to count, and even provisional ballots cast under the new VoterID law to sort through. Being this close, we won’t know the final results of this for a few weeks. Any recount would then take place toward the end of November. However, we will do our best to keep the community informed on our social media pages as updates come available. Again, thank you so very much for your support and well wishes!”
When reached for comment by Goldsborodailynews.com on Wednesday regarding the election results, Smith responded by saying, “I think it is confusing and a bit misleading to the citizens of Goldsboro that the local headlines are proclaiming that there is a clear winner in the Mayoral race. The final results are not in as of yet. Write-ins, provisional and supplemental absentee ballots must be counted before a clear winner can officially be announced. Also, the option for a local recount is a consideration as well. What gives me optimism is that there is a verification process that insures that we have free and fair elections. Let’s allow the process to culminate before drawing premature conclusions.”
Attempts to reach Wayne County Board of Elections President Eddie Edwards on Wednesday were unsuccessful.… read more »
Mayoral and District 5 Races Become Clearer After Primary Election
The races defining two local elections became much clearer in Tuesday’s primary election.
Charles Gaylor and Raymond Smith Jr., received the most votes in the Goldsboro Mayoral race to advance to the Nov. 7 general election.
Gaylor received 1,274 votes, 44.2 percent of the vote. Smith received 1,200 votes, 41.6 percent of the vote.
Zach Lilly received 138 votes, Bevan Foster had 137 votes, Chuck Henry got 68 votes and Dave Craig collected 64 votes.
In the race for Goldsboro City Council District 5, Beverly Weeks and Phyllis Merritt-James received the most votes and will vie for the seat in November. Weeks received 250 votes, 43.9 percent of the votes. Merritt-James collected 207 votes, 36.3 percent of the vote.
Chretien Dumond received 112 votes.
Of the 20,867 registered voters, just 2,886 actually voted.
A Goldsboro native and Goldsboro High School graduate, Smith touted his efforts to serve the community throughout his political career and in the months leading up to Tuesday’s election.
Smith was elected as the first African American to serve in the At-Large seat of the Wayne County Public Schools Board of Education from 2017-2019 before being elected to the N.C. House ofRepresentatives in 2019. He served in the House of Representatives from 2019-2023.
“It’s very heartwarming that the citizens have made a choice,” Smith said. “We will continue our community outreach. Although I have been serving in this community most of my life, we will continue our community outreach. I will continue to introduce myself to citizens who have not met me, and reintroduce myself to others.”
The lack of voter turnout concerns Smith, and is an issue he hopes to continue to address with the citizens of Goldsboro.
“I think there will be tremendous interest in the upcoming election,” Smith said. “I want to increase voter turnout and I want voters to understand the importance of local elections. In order for municipal elections to increase in turnout, I don’t know there’s anything besides voter education that can increase voter turnout. It is going to require a tremendous effort.”
Gaylor was appointed to Goldsboro City Council District 5 in November 2021, and he is currently the Senior Staff Attorney serving Community Care of North Carolina, Inc. Gaylor is also a former Associate Vice President and Small Business Center Director at Wayne Community College, and a former Associate Engineer at 3TEX, Inc.
Attempts to reach Gaylor by Goldsborodailynews.com were unsuccessful.
Merritt-James expressed her gratitude for the opportunity as well as the support she received from voters and her team.
“I would first like to thank God,” Merritt-James said. “I want to thank my team for their hard work and for believing in the message we developed. I pray for the next leg of this journey, it’s so important to be a part of this process. It’s so important for everybody to have their voice heard.”
Merritt-James anticipates continuing to make a dedicated effort to connect with citizens of district 5 in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 7 general election.
“We will continue to do the leg work and get our message out,” Merritt-James said. “We will continue to listen to the heart of God for how He wants us to go forward.. We have a wonderful district. It’s so important for us to consider everybody and make sure everyone’s voice is heard.”
Attempts to reach Weeks were unsuccessful.… read more »
