Pink Hill Mixed Beverage Referendum "appears" to be invalid
The town of Pink Hill held a Mixed Beverage Referendum during the November 2022 election, which passed with 65 votes for and 42 against. During Tuesday’s Pink Hill Commissioners meeting, Mayor Yvonne Deatherage announced the entire Mixed Beverage Referendum vote was invalid because Pink Hill had not met the requirements to hold the vote.
In an email letter obtained by Neuse News to Mayor Deatherage from North Carolina ABC Commission Assistant General Counsel Renee C. Metz, she stated, “it appears the Mixed Beverages election held in November 2022 was not authorized by statute.”
According to the North Carolina ABC Commission, Pink Hill did not have the required 300 registered voters for the vote to be valid. At the time of the November 2022 election, Pink Hill had 290 registered voters.
North Carolina General Statute § 18B-600 (e1) Small City Mixed Beverage Elections states, “A city may also hold a mixed beverage election if the city has at least 300 registered voters and is located in a county with at least one other city that has approved the sale of mixed beverages.”
Commissioner Pete Fantini did not agree with Deatherage’s handling of the announcement, as no copies of the letter were presented to the board before the meeting.
“It was my responsibility to get the things together,” said Deatherage.
“It’s our responsibility, not yours,” said Fantini.
“It really was your responsibility to hold a legal election,” said Deatherage. “You did not have 300 votes.”
“The way you go about these things are absolutely ridiculous,” said Fantini.
At this time, no mixed beverage permit may be issued for businesses inside Pink Hill boundaries as the state does not recognize the results of the mixed beverage referendum.
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