Embattled Princeville mayor loses re-election bid
Three months after she was indicted on embezzlement charges, Princeville Mayor Priscilla Everette-Oates lost her re-election bid Tuesday.
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Bobbie Jones, an assistant principal at Baskerville Elementary School in Rocky Mount, defeated Everette-Oates by a 67-16 percent margin, according to unofficial results. Milton Bullock, a member of the music group The Platters, finished third with 13 percent of the vote, while Theresa Williams had 4 percent.
Everette-Oates was indicted on 17 counts of embezzlement by a public official. She was accused of racking up $5,634 in unauthorized charges on a town credit card between August 2010 and January 2012.
"I want to say to everybody that Mayor Oates never committed a crime," she said during a Town Council meeting in August. "I am innocent."
The state took over the town finances in the summer of 2012. At the time, Princeville was 9 percent over budget and was in danger of defaulting on a loan.
State auditors soon launched an investigation and accused Everette-Oates of charging $8,115 to a town credit card without any receipts to back up the spending. Charges included $1,255 to Madison Steak and Seafood and $222 to Bed Bath & Beyond.
She and her attorney Malvern King accused the state's Local Government Commission of conspiring with local officials to oust her.
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