Cary Mayor returns $60,000 donation to anonymous donor

Cary Mayor Mark Kownick has returned the $60,000 donation his board rejected earlier this month.

The cashier’s check authorized by a Cary couple who asked to remain anonymous sparked debate in the community and stoked infighting on the divided Village Board.

But the couple still is willing to donate the money if the board – voting, 3-2, to kill the donation – has a change of heart.

They’re not giving up, Kownick said.

At the center of the donation disapproval is a debate about whether village officials should know the identities of the donors.

As early as March, trustees raised concerns about a situation they contend could create the appearance of misconduct. At least one trustee went as far as to suggest a conspiracy.

“With regard to the mayor’s anonymous cash donation for new signs, it sounds like pay to play,” Trustee Jennifer Weinhammer wrote in an email to the entire board March 20. “If I am thinking that others may, too. What do these ‘anonymous cash donors’ want in return?”

Other trustees have steered clear of corruption allegations.

“The intentions of the donor could be pure as gold, and that’s great, but I think there’s an ethics basis to this whole thing,” said Trustee Jim Cosler. “What is a valid reason for the board not knowing?”

Kownick told the Northwest Herald that the more people who know the couple’s identities – an exclusive group that includes the mayor, village administrator and village attorney – the more likely the “integrity” and anonymity of the couple can be compromised.

“I take offense to that, because to my knowledge I’ve never been accused of leaking information,” Cosler said. “To be accused of maybe leaking the donor’s name is ludicrous.”

Trustee Kim Covelli – who stood in opposition to the donation but abstained from a vote because she did not have enough information about the donors to make an informed decision – was offered a chance to meet with the donors but did not take it.

On April 30, more than a month before the board voted to reject the donation, Kownick sent Covelli a text.

“I just spoke with the donor,” he wrote. “He would be willing to meet with you and me one day next week. Can you give me a few days and times that will work for you? He is aware you can’t meet till around 6:00. Thank you.”

Covelli texted this reply: “Ok I’ll take to Chris [Covelli] about dates next week and coordinate with his schedule. I’ll let you know tomorrow night or sooner.”

Covelli never replied to that text message.

The Northwest Herald reached out to Covelli to ask why she didn’t meet with the donor. She said she made her stance clear May 1 – the day after that text – when the village met for its monthly meeting.

“It’s just important for all of us to know rather than a select few of us to know, and I would just say that, if you could talk to this person and see if everyone can have that same opportunity,” Covelli said.

After the meeting, Covelli said, she never received a response about whether the entire board could meet with the donor. She interpreted the silence, she said, as a statement that the meeting opportunity had been withdrawn.

“I made it clear that I wanted that taken back to the donor,” Covelli said. “My concern is my question was never ever addressed.”