Polack: Ham should be next mayor of Goldsboro

Less than a month after the Goldsboro City Council officially accepted Mayor Chuck Allen’s resignation, Councilman Taj Polack said Mayor Pro Tem David Ham should replace him.

Polack’s comments came a day after the board set a timeline for choosing the man or woman who will fill the seat left by Allen, who stepped down to focus on his battle with brain cancer.

“I believe in a line of succession,” Polack said. “If (President) Joe Biden was … unable to perform his duties, it would go to the vice president. Goldsboro isn’t Washington D.C., but I believe the same process should apply here.”

The District 3 councilman cited the need for an experienced hand to guide the city as Goldsboro “starts to move on from COVID” and questions loom about the city’s financial health.

“He’s paid his dues,” he said of Ham. “He has the experience.”

Polack was absent June 21 when fellow council members approved the process by which Allen would be replaced and at that meeting, Councilwoman Brandi Matthews objected to taking action while he was away.

“I think his input and interest in this decision is needed,” she said then.

But Polack said had he been present, the outcome would not have changed — and noted that he would have voiced support for the process followed in 2002 when Mayor Hal Plonk died.

That year, unlike the process that will unfold in the coming weeks, the council didn’t take applications or hear presentations from those who wanted to throw their names into the hat.

Council members, at that time, simply nominated Al King — and voted to make him mayor.

“It’s our responsibility to make sure Goldsboro is in good hands and I take that seriously,” Polack said. “That’s why I would have voted to appoint. So, I will respect the consensus, but I know who I’m going to support when the time comes. For me, David Ham is the only choice.”

Here is how the council will choose the next mayor:

• Applications can be accessed on the city’s website and those residents who are interested in filling the position have until July 23 at 5 p.m. to complete and submit them.

• Once the deadline passes, the City Clerk will release the names of the applicants to members of the council and the news media.

• At the board’s August 2 meeting, applicants will make their cases to the council.

• At the board’s August 16 meeting, the board will vote. (Note: Any sitting member of the council who throws his or her name into the hat will not be allowed to vote on the appointment.)