Records request yields Williams investigation exhibits

A records request fulfilled by the city resulted this afternoon in the release of more than a dozen exhibits that detail, in his own words, District 1 Councilman Antonio Williams’ attempt to have Community Relations Director Shycole Simpson-Carter fired three days after she filed a complaint regarding his alleged treatment of her at a Goldsboro-Wayne Transportation Authority meeting.

Simpson-Carter’s complaint, dated Oct. 2, 2018, and documents related to her request for a No-Contact Order against Williams — the request was denied by a judge the following month — are below:

A typed and hand-written version of Williams’ note requesting Simpson-Carter be fired can be seen below:

The conflict between the two parties came to a head at the GWTA meeting, when Williams refuted Simpson-Carter’s claim that she did all she could to assist displaced residents in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence.

According to records released in June, Williams said at a Sept. 27, 2018, GWTA meeting that the city only footed the bill for one night at local hotels — that it did not pay for lodging for the individuals on Friday, Sept. 21, 2018.

“We got them in a hotel for one night with WAGES help, but I had to pay for these individuals room and board after they were put back on the street Friday,” a quote attributed to Williams from that meeting reads. “(Simpson-Carter) is lying. I don’t know what receipts she has, but she is lying. The City did not pay for these individuals hotel stay on Friday.”

Receipts obtained by the New Old North, however, seemingly substantiate Simpson-Carter’s assertion that she did, in fact, pay for several of the residents to spend an additional night at Knights Inn using her “city procurement card.” She also bought food and duffle bags, and the newly released documents show narratives prepared by Simpson-Carter for 10 individuals — and are seemingly indicative of her following the cases through.

Williams’ claim that “I had to pay for these individuals room and board” is only substantiated by a single receipt for a single room for one individual. That receipt, and two receipts from McDonald’s, can also be seen in the following exhibit:

The Williams censure hearing is scheduled for July 15.