The town of Holly Ridge is accepting applications beginning Sept. 1 for who will fill the mayor vacancy left suddenly by Jeff Wenzel earlier in August.
Wenzel, who had been serving as mayor for the last four-and-a-half years, announced his effective-immediately resignation during a special-called meeting of the Holly Ridge Town Council on Aug. 19. The meeting was initially scheduled to fill the council seat left by Carolyn Stanley, who passed away in July.
In fact, Wenzel’s is the third vacancy left on the town council just this year. Councilman Pete Parnian filled Aaron Ritter’s seat back in March following Ritter’s resignation, and Councilman Walter Zabicki was chosen to fill Stanley’s seat during that same Aug. 19 meeting.
Wenzel said in a statement on his Facebook page the morning of Aug. 20 that Holly Ridge has grown immensely since he became mayor in 2020, and he has come to realize his work schedule no longer allows him to fulfill his mayoral duties as fully as he would like.
The community and much of the town council themselves were left shocked by the sudden departure. A special meeting was held Tuesday, Aug. 27, to address how to go about filling the vacancy left by Wenzel, and Mayor Pro-Tem Joshua Patti said this was a total surprise to him, and he was made aware of the resignation via text message.
Town Manager Heather Reynolds also said she was only made aware right before it happened.
Patti said he is prepared to step in and fulfill the duties of mayor as long as necessary, despite rumors to the contrary. Patti said his wife had a baby last week, and there were some rumors he would be taking leave for 4-6 weeks to go on paternity leave.
However, Patti said that is not the case.
“The purpose of this meeting is to slow down, assess what is going on, inform the public, give the public an opportunity to process any changes that may take place, and discuss possible paths forward,” Patti added at the beginning of Tuesday’s special meeting.
Councilman Gregory Hines did express some concern about Patti’s availability, and said he felt there needed to be a sense of urgency in filling the vacancy.
Councilman Phil Misciagno agreed, saying, “I do believe we need a face for the town. I do believe the workload for Mr. Wenzel has been very stressful for him. The reality is, I want to protect the interest of the mayor...”
Misciagno also stated his support for Wenzel’s decision to resign, saying it was to take care of his business, and that there was no malicious intent behind the decision.
There was some discussion on the process in which to go about filling the vacancy Tuesday, the town’s attorney explaining that North Carolina General Statute provides that any absence or vacancy on an elected body is to be filled by the council.
There is no provision for the method they must use, but the council does have an existing policy, however they can also change or modify that policy at any time.
Ultimately, a motion was made to begin accepting applications for a period of two weeks from Sept. 1 to Sept. 14. A special meeting will then be held at a later date to conduct interviews and likely select a new mayor.
