“I know for a fact that you live at 23 Long View Lane (Blue Ridge), which is in Staurolite Mountain subdivision, and that has been your residence,” Blue Ridge Councilman Nathan Fitts said in an email Monday, November 9, to Mayor Donna Whitener and other council members, accusing Whitener of not residing within city limits.
In the email, and prior to the allegation, Fitts quoted Section 1.10.B of the city’s charter, which specifies that any person to serve as mayor, or on the council, must be a resident, and continue that status throughout their term, and have been a resident of the city for 12 consecutive months prior to being elected.
Of the accusation, Whitener said, “The city council before us spent $40,000 trying (to prove she lives outside city limits) ... Our attorney had already told the council at that point that I have a legal domicile. We had an investigation, it’s legal. I have a legal apartment, I mean, it’s almost silly.
“The person really hammering it, you ought to ask them where they live before they ran for office.”
Whitener added that she owns five houses and is buying a sixth.
“I don’t have anything to hide,” Whitener said.
In the email, Fitts added, “You claim to have a ‘domicile,’ which is an apartment over at your furniture store, however, now that I’m on the council and have reviewed the charter time and time again, I find nowhere in the charter does it allow for a ‘domicile.’
“As a matter of fact, I don’t know the last time you’ve actually spent a night at your ‘domicile’ and that can be proven. You have lied and been fraudulent to the citizens of this city from the very beginning.
“I guess, why would we expect anything else than that from you? Enough is enough, it’s time to stand up for what’s right.”