Politics

Jeffrey Young appointed to Mills River Town Council

Jeffrey Young, who was appointed to the Mills River Town Council Thursday, made his case for the job last week before the council.

By Amy McCraw, Published: March 3, 2022

Retired engineer Jeffrey Young secured appointment to the Mills River Town Council on Thursday after council members appointed him to a vacant seat on the council.

“I’m humbled by the appointment,” Young said shortly after three rounds of voting earned him the seat left vacant by the retirement of veteran council member and former mayor Roger Snyder. The term expires in December 2023.
“I look forward to the challenge of serving on the council as well as serving the residents of Mills River,” said Young, who will be sworn in during the council’s next regular meeting on March 10.
He served on the Mills River Planning Board for eight years, on the Parks & Recreation Committee and the town’s finance committee. He retired in October as an engineer with the Department of Agriculture.
Young was one of nine candidates who sought appointment to the council.
The other candidates were Tristan Cowie, Eugene Edwards Jr., Jerry Frady, Brian Kimball, Katrina McGuire, Paul Richmond Meadows Jr., Teresa Peterson-Spoonholtz and Dr. Sayyad Yaseen Zia.
Mayor Shanon Gonce opened the meeting at Town Hall to select the new council member saying all the applicants were qualified to serve.
“It wouldn’t disappoint me who got this,” Gonce said.
Gonce instructed council members to write their pick for the council seat on a piece of paper. The applicants needed three votes to earn the seat.
Town Clerk Susan Powell then read aloud the selection of each council member.
Young earned two votes from Cantrell and Goode during the first round of voting with Kimball earning Austin’s vote and Frady getting Gonce’s vote.
Council member Sandra Goode said Young stood out the most when the council began considering the applicants. He filled out the application completely, had a good background on different committees and holds a college degree, she said. Austin supported Kimball who had served on the council after he was appointed to fill a vacancy in 2020.
“I think we’ll have a couple of tough decisions, the sheriff’s contract one of them," Austin said. "I think he brings a lot to the table."
On the next round, Goode and Cantrell voted for Young and Gonce and Austin voting for Kimball.
Cantrell defeated Kimball for the council’s District 2 seat by 7 votes in November’s election.
Members discussed whether Kimball should be appointed to the vacant council seat so soon after the election loss. In the final round, Cantrell, Gonce and Goode chose Young and Austin voted for Kimball.