BREAKING NEWS: Board of Elections rules against Foster, sends case back to state officials for ‘corrective action’

In a 3-2 vote, the Wayne County Board of Elections ruled against former Goldsboro City Councilman and mayoral candidate Bevan Foster Tuesday morning after an evidentiary hearing ordered last week by state officials.

The hearing represented the latest chapter in a saga that began when Foster ran in — and won — the Democratic Primary for the county Board of Commissioners District 3 seat earlier this year. His candidacy and subsequent victory would later be challenged by three city residents who claim he does not live in the district and was, therefore, ineligible to enter the race.

The decision sends the matter back to the State Board of Elections, where that body will have to determine what “corrective action” is necessary.

According to the protest filed by Linda Harper, Joy Brown and Zachary Lilly — it was later determined that Lilly is the only valid protestor, as Harper and Brown are registered Republicans and had no valid stake in the contest — Foster does not live at 610 Devereaux Street.

Foster claimed that he purchased the home with the intention of elevating the neighborhood by renovating the property, and said that while he did not sleep there because of conflicts with one of his roommates, it was his permanent residence.

The evidence presented during the hearing included:

• When Foster filed to run for mayor, he listed his address as 901 Pittman Street, which is in District 2. But just more than a month after he lost the election, he changed his address to 610 Devereaux Street when he filed for the District 3 race.

• The month after Foster filed to run in the election, a “Confirmation Mailer” was sent to Foster at 610 Devereaux. It was returned and marked “Return to Sender — Vacant — Unable to Forward” by the U.S. Postal Service.

• A second mailer was sent to Foster at 610 Devereaux several weeks later. It, too, was returned and marked “Return to Sender — Vacant — Unable to Forward” by the USPS.

• A third attempt was made at the end of February. That mailer was returned and marked “Return to Sender — Not Deliverable as Addressed — Unable to Forward” by the USPS.

• In January, another property owned by Foster, located at 612 Devereaux Street, caught fire. The Goldsboro Fire Department responded, and, on the incident report, Foster listed his address as 901 Pittman Street. Foster signed the form. Dustin Pittman, the attorney for the protestors, said Foster’s answer on the form contradicts his sworn statement that he has lived in 610 Devereaux since December. “This is his own hand,” Pittman said. “(He lists 901 Pittman as his address, but) according to Mr. Foster, at this time, he is living at 610 Devereaux Street.”

• Records obtained by the board via subpoena indicate that the home at 610 Devereaux did not have running water until Jan. 3, 2020 — several weeks after Foster claims he moved in. “The first date of service listed is Jan. 3 of 2020,” Pittman said. “Prior to that date, there was no water service at 610 Devereaux Street.” Foster’s attorney conceded that there was no water or electricity during that time, but added that doesn’t mean Foster didn’t live there.

• A text message allegedly sent by Foster to Frankie Pearl, one of his “tenants,” on January 3 raised additional questions about who lived at 610 Devereaux and whether Foster’s intent was to reside there or be a landlord. “Why would he be texting her to say that he’s changing the locks if he was living there and she was simply staying in a room?” Pittman said. “When you … connect water, connect power, change the locks, what does that tell you? You have a tenant.”

• As of the date the protest was filed, Foster was delinquent on property taxes for the house located at 612 Devereaux St. On the official paperwork associated with those property taxes, he listed 901 Pittman Street as his residence.

• On May 15, Foster filed paperwork to evict two tenants from 610 Devereaux for failure to pay rent and failure to keep the property clean. Foster said he was simply allowing a relative and his girlfriend to stay in his home because they had fallen on hard times and he didn’t want his cousin to be homeless.

• In a sworn affidavit dated June 9, Pearl, one of the people listed on the eviction notice, said Foster has never lived at 610 Devereaux — and “has not spent a single night” there since she moved into the house in early January. She also claimed that the power bill was in her name.

• The following photographs allegedly taken by Pearl of the inside of 610 Devereaux when she moved in were also presented as evidence during the hearing. “You see bags of trash covering a heater in the middle of winter. You see a window that has been boarded with plywood,” Pittman said. “Does this seem reasonable that this is a location that Mr. Foster would have resided in?” Foster’s attorney said the presence of items — and the fact that the home wasn’t empty — actually proves residence.