Tuesday night at Wake Forest Town Hall was more than just a meeting; it was a changing of the guard that hadn’t been seen in nearly a quarter-century.
The Morning After: How Wake Forest’s New Board Just Reset the Agenda
For the first time since 2001, the Town of Wake Forest has a new Mayor. In a session marked by tearful farewells, sharp political maneuvering, and direct threats of litigation from residents, the Board of Commissioners turned the page on the Vivian Jones era and inaugurated Mayor Ben Clapsaddle.
While the evening’s pomp and circumstance focused on legacy, the policy work began immediately. In his very first substantive act as Mayor, Clapsaddle moved to quell months of rising community frustration by reinstating the Senior Center Advisory Board—a direct response to an outpouring of complaints regarding the town’s management of the Center for Active Aging.
But the night’s biggest surprise came from its newest face. Newly sworn-in Commissioner Haseeb Fatmi, an attorney by trade, wasted zero time making his presence felt. In a move that silenced much of the room’s political anxiety, Fatmi used his first minutes in office to introduce a detailed, pre-written motion that established a rapid and structured process to fill the Board’s empty seat—effectively seizing control of the narrative before the old guard could even settle in.
Here is your comprehensive report on the historic Board of Commissioners meeting for December 16, 2025.
The “Fatmi Method”: A Rookie Shows His Legal Precision
With Clapsaddle’s ascent to the mayoralty, his former commissioner seat is now vacant. Control of that seat dominated the public discourse leading up to the meeting. Tensions have been running high following the November election, with residents fearing a backroom deal to appoint a political favorite rather than respecting the will of the voters.
Several residents took to the podium to demand that the Board appoint the third-place finisher from that election to the vacant seat, viewing it as the most democratic option.
Maureen McBride scolded the Board for what she described as a dismissive attitude toward voters. She specifically referenced a Facebook comment allegedly made by a sitting commissioner— “Good luck with that”—in response to suggestions that the third-place winner be appointed. “Let’s stop pretending the public doesn’t know what’s going on,” McBride said, accusing the “non-partisan” board of taking marching orders from “local, county, and state parties.”
Whitney Thomas echoed these sentiments. She urged the Board to prioritize unity over political convenience, suggesting that appointing the opposing party’s candidate (who garnered nearly 20% of the vote) would heal the divisions in the town’s culture.
Margaret Watkins took a different approach during the earlier Public Hearing. Rather than advocating for a specific person based on vote count, she urged the Board to use a “smart process.” She implored the Commissioners: “Don’t just appoint somebody because they’re a friend or they’re affiliated with the same party, but because they actually know what they’re doing.”
The Strategic Response: The Board clearly anticipated this pressure, but the newcomer provided the solution. Immediately after being sworn in, Commissioner Haseeb Fatmi didn’t offer generic platitudes. Instead, he introduced a sophisticated, multi-point motion to establish a rigid selection process.
Drawing on his background as a litigator, Fatmi’s motion was precise and left little room for ambiguity. It effectively boxed out potential criticism of a “secret” process by establishing a clear, public timeline:
Dec. 19 – Jan. 14: Application window open to the public.
Jan. 16: Board selects interviewees during their scheduled Retreat.
Jan. 20: Public interviews conducted during the regular Board meeting, with a vote to appoint scheduled for the same night.
By leading with this motion, Fatmi demonstrated that he intends to be a strategic architect on the Board, not a backbencher. His legal method took the wind out of the sails of critics who had come prepared to fight for a transparent process, as he had already delivered one before the meeting’s regular business even began.
Shackleford Pushes Back. Mayor Pro Tem Keith Shackleford supported the motion but, in his closing remarks, forcefully denied the allegations of partisan puppetry raised by the public speakers. “I have not received one phone call, one email… encouraging me to select or promote a particular person,” Shackleford stated, visibly frustrated by the insinuations. “It shows a lack of trust in your elected officials… and that hurts.”
Clapsaddle’s First Move: Healing the Rift at the Senior Center
While Fatmi handled the political mechanics, Mayor Clapsaddle focused on mending community relations. The most significant policy development from the Mayor’s chair occurred moments after the ceremonial Bibles (and U.S. Constitution in Fatmi’s case) were put away. Clapsaddle moved to address the “Us vs. Them” friction that has plagued the transition of the Northern Wake Senior Center to the town-managed “Center for Active Aging.”
During the public comment period, the Board heard blistering critiques of the current management strategy.
Marian Kirchoff, a five-year member of the center, described a fracturing community in which a new resident/non-resident classification system has alienated longtime participants. She noted that while residents pay taxes, non-residents are currently “keeping the lights on” by filling 75% of class spots, yet face higher fees and delayed registration. “The town considers the center to be a business. It’s not. It’s a community,” Kirchoff told the Board.
Jennifer Amyx, speaking on behalf of Wake Forest Indivisible, detailed specific operational failures at the renovated facility. She cited the installation of high-decibel hand dryers that are physically painful for seniors with hearing aids, and the staff’s refusal to provide paper towels despite repeated requests. She also criticized the “two-tiered pricing system” for classes, arguing it hurts seniors on fixed incomes.
Acknowledging these grievances, Mayor Clapsaddle’s motion to reinstate the Senior Advisory Board signals a pivot away from top-down administrative control. The reinstated board will give the senior community a formal, sanctioned voice in the center’s operations, programming, and culture—a direct effort to restore the sense of ownership and community that Kirchoff and Amyx argued had been lost.
Infrastructure Growing Pains: Lawsuits and Surveillance
Beyond the internal politics, the meeting highlighted the severe growing pains facing Wake Forest’s infrastructure.
The Ligon Mill Road Ultimatum. In perhaps the most heated moment of the night, property owner John Finch delivered a stark ultimatum to the Board regarding the proposed extension of Ligon Mill Road. Finch, representing a family trust, stated that the Planning Department’s current proposal would slash through his property at 744 Durham Road, destroying a historic neighborhood entryway and devaluing his land by an estimated $2 million.
Finch did not mince words. He explicitly threatened to invoke North Carolina’s inverse condemnation laws if the town proceeds with mapping the road. “My lawsuit is going to be, unfortunately, against the Town of Wake Forest,” Finch warned, promising to contact the town attorney the following morning.
Surveillance Concerns During the public hearing for the Capital Improvements Plan (CIP), Jennifer Amyx returned to the podium to question the town’s investment in surveillance technology. She highlighted line items funding a “Real Time Crime Information Center” and the expansion of the Flock camera system.
Amyx contrasted Wake Forest with the City of Raleigh, which maintains a transparency portal showing residents exactly where surveillance assets are deployed. She argued that Wake Forest’s lack of such a portal leaves citizens in the dark about how they are being watched. “This is the type of issue that there should be a public hearing on,” she urged.
The End of the Jones Era
Despite the friction, the evening’s emotional center was the farewell to Mayor Vivian Jones.
After 24 years holding the gavel, Jones stepped down to a standing ovation. The Board unanimously passed a resolution renaming the entire municipal campus—including Town Hall, the Annex, and the Taylor Street Police Substation—as the “Vivian A. Jones Municipal Campus.”
The resolution read like a history of modern Wake Forest, crediting Jones with:
Achieving the town’s AAA bond rating.
The construction of the Renaissance Center and Joyner Park.
Launching the “Go Wake Forest” bus service.
Establishing the Wireless Research Center.
In her final remarks, Jones was reflective and gracious. She thanked her family, the town staff, and the citizens who kept re-electing her for two decades.
Commissioner Nick Sliwinski also departed the Board, and a resolution was adopted honoring his service since 2021. Sliwinski was recognized for his advocacy on the Parks & Rec board and his work establishing the Wake Forest Mental Wellness Fair.
What Comes Next?
As the meeting adjourned, the reality of the new dynamic set in. Mayor Clapsaddle has signaled he is ready to act quickly to address constituent service issues, such as the Senior Center. However, the Board is operating at 80% capacity.
The clock is now ticking. Thanks to Commissioner Fatmi’s motion, the Board has less than one month to sift through applications and select the person who will fill the fifth seat. With the public watching closely for any signs of the “partisan convenience” Whitney Thomas warned against, the January 20th meeting promises to be another defining night for the new administration.
Wake Forest Matters will continue to track the commissioner application process and will publish the list of applicants once they are made public.
Tom Baker IV is the publisher of Wake Forest Matters, Wake Forest’s only independent local newsroom. A Wake Forest native, Navy veteran, and intelligence professional, Tom launched Wake Forest Matters to bring serious accountability journalism to his hometown. Tips and story ideas: publisher@wakeforestmatters.com