Recently, just before the NC General Assembly voted to allow developer David Couch to de-annex nearly 1,000 acres of his land from Summerfield in order to build a housing development with a density higher than the Town Council would allow, Summerfield Mayor Tim Sessoms said he planned to resign from that job.
However, on Thursday, Aug. 8, Sessoms told the Rhino Times that after more consideration – and after hearing from others in the town – he had decided to stay in that job for the remainder of his term, which ends in December of 2025.
Sessoms said earlier this summer that, for years, the citizens of Summerfield and the town’s leaders had worked hard to make it a great place to live, but he added that the current four-person majority on the Town Council was threatening the very existence of Summerfield.
The mayor also said Summerfield “is a premiere town in the state of North Carolina” and that It may very well be the best town in the state – however, he said that a four-member Town Council majority was “ripping it all apart.”
“I’m heartbroken for our town,” he said earlier this summer.
Sessoms also told the Rhino Times at that time that he intended to resign as mayor.
“I don’t want to resign, but to be the master of ceremonies over this Ringling Brothers circus is pointless when I can’t do anything about it,” he said in June. “I’m growing weary.”
This week, however, Sessoms said he’d had a change of heart after hearing from the town’s people who were concerned that, if he stepped down from that job of running meetings, the residents would be less informed as to what was going on with the town’s government.
Sessoms and Town Councilmember John Doggett are the only two members of the Town Council who were willing to work with Couch in order to stave off de-annexation of the vast swath of land and the two have disagreed with the four-person majority on a number of other key issues as well.
In Summerfield, the mayor doesn’t get a vote on town matters except in the case of a tie, and, since four of five council members wanted former Town Manager Scott Whitaker gone, that drove the entire Town of Summerfield staff away as well, and there was nothing Sessoms could do about it. That was one major issue that caused him to want to resign.
“It’s very frustrating,” Sessoms said.
If I were Sessoms I’d want to distance myself from this dumpster fire of town “government”. He hasn’t and can’t do anything to change the nosedive trajectory the democrat board majority desires, so imploding with that is not noble. Rest assured, if he remains, he will be blamed for this current state of affairs. With the democrats, the facts are irrelevant, it’s all about the narrative. Go before we lose the Town Charter or you will be made the scapegoat. Let all this implode, then come back in with the platform of rebuilding.
Why are you so intent on using scare tactics? What proof do you have that Summerfield may lose its town charter? What criteria are you using?
Tim is a reasonable person with the experience needed to deal with Raleigh and the county commission. He has respect there and the credibility to make things happen. If the the council of four would only listen. I agree and glad he’s staying. He and John are the only ones who can keep their failures in check by making sure the folks who voted for them are heard. Hang in there Tim and John, I suspect next election help will be on the way.
If Tim is such a reasonable person, my concern is that he would be a pushover and acquiesce to Raleigh and Phil Berger. Berger is a bully. Berger is such a New Jersey name.
Does his office have wheels and axle? Slummerfield NC.
“…Summerfield “is a premiere town in the state of North Carolina” and that It may very well be the best town in the state.” I understand his sentiment, but I grew up in a similar sized town. The difference? It actually provided services (water, sewer, garbage collection, loose-leaf collection, police, fire, library, parks and rec). Summerfield does zero, outside of managing a couple of parks. It exists solely to keep out Greensboro. It is not a real town. I believe Sessoms has done a good job and tried to negotiate with Couch, but it was too late. Now that the hard-core zealots have taken over, he and Doggett can’t do a thing. At least by staying, the Fabulous Four can’t (or shouldn’t be able to) operate in secret.