Board of Elections votes to allow primary election protest to continue

The Wayne County Board of Elections decided in a split vote Wednesday to take a more detailed look at an election protest filed by three Goldsboro residents who claim Bevan Foster’s victory in the March 3 primary for a seat on the county commission should be nullified because, they say, he does not live at his registered District 3 address.

Members also voted unanimously to accept witness testimony only via sworn affidavit during a hearing set for June 10 in the commissioners’ meeting room inside the Wayne County Courthouse. During the hearing, lawyers or representatives for both parties will be allowed to advocate for their positions in front of the board.

The board did not discuss the complaint Wednesday, but seven emails questioning Foster’s legitimacy as a candidate and his residency and asking the board to take up the matter were read during the call-in meeting. One email in support of Foster’s candidacy was also read.

Several other emails were received but were not read publicly because they did not include a name or address.

According to the official complaint, which was filed by Linda Harper, Zachary Lilly and Joy Brown, Foster does not live at 610 Devereaux St. — but is a landlord.

Muddying the water further are a series of public documents that have surfaced over the last several days that seemingly give credence to the argument that, at the very least, the house on Devereaux is occupied by people other than the former Goldsboro City councilman and mayoral candidate.

Here’s what those documents show:

• When Foster ran for mayor last year, he listed his home address as 901 Pittman St., but after losing the election, he filed to run for a seat on the Board of Commissioners, this time using the Devereaux Street address.

• Earlier this year, another property owned by Foster, located at 612 Devereaux Street, caught fire. On the official incident report, Foster listed the Pittman Street address as his residence.

• A few weeks later, a complaint was emailed to city staff by a resident of 610 Devereaux, alleging that she expressed concern to her landlord — Foster — about the electrical system in the house, but that he ignored her concerns. The subject line of the email was “Rental property 610 Devereaux.”

• On May 15, Foster files paperwork to evict two people from 610 Devereaux for, among other things, refusal to clean the property and failure to pay rent.