“…the council caused some stir at the meeting when they appointed council member Ryan Dayvault as mayor pro tem over council member Jeanne Dixon, the highest vote getter in the recent election, in a 5-2 vote. ‘I was disappointed that I was nominated and did not receive the second in order to be considered, but I already congratulated Ryan and will work closely with him and the other members of council to represent the 63,000 residents of Kannapolis,’ Dixon said.”

KANNAPOLIS — The new Kannapolis mayor and City Council took their oaths on Monday before to a full house in the Kannapolis City Hall. Mayor Doug Wilson helmed the dais for the first time, along with new council members Naomi Hatchell and Isaiah Payne. However, the council caused some stir at the meeting when they appointed council member Ryan Dayvault as mayor pro tem over council member Jeanne Dixon, the highest vote getter in the recent election, in a 5-2 vote.

The meeting started with outgoing Mayor Darrell Hinnant handing the reins over to Wilson, as he was sworn in as mayor by Cabarrus County Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Martin McGee. Wilson then presided over the rest of the meeting. 

Starting alphabetically with the full term winners, who will serve on the council for the next four years, council member Dianne Berry was called up first and sworn in by McGee. Dixon was then sworn in by attorney Vernon Russell. Finally, for the full terms, Payne was sworn in by N.C. House Representative Grant Campbell. Then, the unexpired term winner, Hatchell, was sworn in, and she will serve on the council until 2027. 

That left the business of nominating and electing the mayor pro tem for the council. When prompted to nominate council members for the position of mayor pro tem, council member Darrell Jackson nominated Dixon, but there were no seconds. 

Payne then nominated Dayvault, which was seconded by Berry. Since Dayvault’s nomination was seconded and Dixon’s was not, the council voted on Dayvault assuming the position. He was appointed with a 5–2 vote, with Jackson and Dixon voting against the appointment.

Since 2013, the council has reappointed the mayor pro tem on an annual rotating basis. There is not a set rotation for who gets the position, other than an unspoken precedent that there are no back-to-back terms.

There is also no direct precedent of the highest vote getter getting the position, but there is a correlation in previous appointments with vote ranking. In 2016, council member Tom Kincaid was mayor pro tem, replacing Dayvault. Kincaid got the second most votes behind Dayvault in the election cycle. In 2018, Berry was appointed mayor pro tem, replacing Wilson. Berry got the second most votes behind Wilson. 

The pattern breaks in 2020 with council member Van Rowell appointed to the role, replacing council member Roger Haas, despite Dayvault and Kincaid taking the top two vote counts in the recent election. This upset the rhythm that had started with pro tem appointments, and in 2022, Dayvault was appointed to the position despite Dixon and Wilson taking the top vote spots. In 2024, Wilson was appointed to replace Kincaid, despite Dayvault and Kincaid taking the top votes in that election.

Dixon accrued 2,960 votes across the counties in the November election, with Berry taking the second most votes for the council members with 2,877 votes. Wilson got 2,671 votes in his mayoral run this election cycle. Dayvault was not running this election cycle, though he has received the most votes in the last three cycles he ran.

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There was some obvious shock among Dixon’s family and supporters sitting in the front rows. Amos McClorey, the president of the Cabarrus County NAACP, came to support Dixon and expressed discontent with how the appointment happened. 

“The vote came out five to two, which means the second-highest vote getter will never become mayor pro tem over the four-year period because the five of them will vote each other for the next four years. So, that’s a lockout,” McClorey said.

Despite not getting the nomination berth, Dixon is still thinking collaboratively about the council moving forward.

“I was disappointed that I was nominated and did not receive the second in order to be considered, but I already congratulated Ryan and will work closely with him and the other members of council to represent the 63,000 residents of Kannapolis,” Dixon said.

Dayvault had heard that he might be put up for the nomination, but he was not sure how the vote would turn out. 

“It’s an honor to be named that and be selected to serve the city again. I look forward to helping out where I can,” Dayvault said. “I am hoping we can all work together to move the community forward and do some housekeeping of overall management of the city.”

Of the returning council members, Dixon is the only one to not have served as mayor pro tem; however, this is her fourth year in office. Dayvault and Wilson did not serve as mayors pro tem until they had been on the council for four years by 2015 and 2017, respectively. Berry served her first term in the position after five years, and Jackson did after eight years.

“I think it was based on Mr. Dayvault’s seniority. He’s experienced being on council and been through a lot of changes in the city,” Wilson said. “The council chose the most qualified person to serve based on experience on the council.”

Both Wilson and Berry brought up the recent shift in Charlotte City Council precedent for the election of their mayor pro tem. They recently appointed councilmember James Mitchell instead of the highest vote getter for the election cycle, Dimple Ajmera. The Charlotte council also did not elect the highest vote getter in the previous election cycle either. “

Just like Charlotte, Kannapolis City Council is at a pivotal crossroads and embracing a major turning point, which demands a significant choice. Our citizens asked for change, and we are ready to accept the challenge. What matters most is the vast ability to lead and having broad, deep and versatile skills to guide people,” Berry wrote in an email to the Salisbury Post. “Ryan Dayvault already has a well-established record of civic leadership in Kannapolis, across our two counties and all across the state.”

With City Manager Mike Legg retiring in the coming year, Berry and Wilson cited the need for experience in the position. Dayvault will serve in the position for the next year, and there will be another nomination and election process on the council next December.

Read more at: https://www.salisburypost.com/2025/12/10/kannapolis-swears-council-and-mayor-split-vote-on-dayvault-for-mayor-pro-tem/