32 OUT OF 36: CONSERVATIVE ITEMS JOE DAVIS PUT BEFORE THE COUNCIL IN TEN MONTHS, | Eastern NC Now

AND WHERE "REPUBLICAN" MAX PERREAULT STOOD

The Pamlico Scoop  |  Washington  |  November 1, 2026

In ten months in office, Councilman Joe Davis brought at least thirty-six conservative-leaning items to the Washington City Council. Councilman Max Perreault, who ran as a Republican, voted against or declined to support thirty-two of them. He supported none outright.

The Pamlico Scoop has compiled the record of the large majority of items Councilman Joe Davis sponsored, seconded or supported before the Washington City Council in the ten months between December 15, 2025 and October 13, 2026, alongside the position taken by Councilman Max Perreault on each one.

Perreault opposed thirty-two. On three — a full accounting of Mayor Ellen Brabo’s civil litigation costs, a request that she step aside during her personal lawsuit, and a reversal of the bed-and-breakfast rule — no position was recorded. He supported none of the thirty-six.

Perreault supported a single item: the July 23 vote to terminate City Manager Jon Rorie, the man he brought into office with the city attorney and the mayor. Both men voted yes on removal.

THE FULL RECORD, ITEM BY ITEM

Every item below was brought, seconded or supported by Councilman Davis. The stance shown is Councilman Perreault’s.

TAXES AND SPENDING

  - Elimination of city property taxes within 24 months (September 14) — Perreault did not support
  - 70% Property Tax Decrease Plan (June 8) — Perreault did not support
  - Opposed the FY26-27 budget, a 23 percent property tax rate increase from an elected promise (June 8) — Perreault did not support
  - Directive to the city manager to revise the budget to lower property tax by at least 14 percent (May 11) — Perreault did not support
  - Voluntary City Services Contribution Program to lower taxes (May 11) — Perreault did not support
  - Transfer of EMS to the county, projected by Davis at a 20 percent-plus property tax reduction (September 14) — Perreault did not support
  - Motion to stop the US ISS Agency contract, which Davis says was awarded without the RFP process (June 8) — Perreault did not support

UTILITIES AND ELECTRIC RATES

  - Lower utility rates and bring greater efficiency to Washington Utilities (December 15, 2025) — the one item Davis seconded rather than sponsored — Perreault did not support
  - Stop or limit electric rate increases (June 8) — Perreault did not support
  - Voted against the 10 percent-plus electric rate increases carried in the budget (June 8) — Perreault did not support
  - Reverse the Perreault–Rorie electric rate increase and halt the $900 increases (September 14) — Perreault did not support
  - Full disclosure of utility revenue increases and their impact on ratepayers (October 13) — Perreault did not support

FAITH AND FAMILY

  - Washington Day of Prayer proclamation (May 11) — Perreault did not support
  - Nuclear Family Month resolution (June 8) — Perreault did not support
  - Keep prayer in City Council as historical precedent — Perreault did not support
  - Sanctuary City for the Unborn (July 13) — Perreault did not support
  - Sanctuary City for the Unborn, second attempt (August 10) — Perreault did not support
  - Flags at half-staff honoring Charlie Kirk (September 14) — Perreault did not support
  - Resolution banning Sharia law and affirming constitutional supremacy (October 13) — Perreault did not support

PROCLAMATIONS AND SYMBOLS

  - Council approval required before mayoral proclamations, which Davis called stopping “Satanic” proclamations (September 14) — Perreault did not support
  - Council approval required before state-level flag directives, which Davis called “evil flag” directives (September 14) — Perreault did not support
  - Rescind the Brabo–Perreault LGBTQ+ Pride Month proclamation, which renews each year without a council vote (October 13) — Perreault did not support
  - Restore Columbus Day, renamed from Indigenous Peoples Day (October 13) — Perreault did not support

TRANSPARENCY AND GOVERNANCE

  - Remove the city manager’s $240,000-plus employment agreement from the consent agenda for public discussion (April 13) — Perreault did not support
  - Direct the city attorney to stop refusing to share public records (October 13) — Perreault did not support
  - Request for proposals for city attorney legal services (September 14) — Perreault did not support
  - Two-to-four-year staggered council terms timed to national election years (October 13) — Perreault did not support
  - Appoint the next highest Republican vote-getter to fill a council vacancy (October 13) — Perreault did not support
  - Stop the hiring processes used for the last two city managers — Perreault did not support
  - Full accounting of Mayor Brabo’s civil litigation costs (October 13) — No position recorded
  - Request that Mayor Brabo step aside during her personal lawsuit (October 13) — No position recorded

COMMUNITY AND BUSINESS

  - Allow youth league sponsorships to improve youth sports financials (June 8) — Perreault did not support
  - Resolution honoring the 11 fallen area youth lost in recent years (August 10) — Perreault did not support
  - Work to bring YMCA development to town — Perreault did not support
  - Reverse the bed-and-breakfast rule to stop local BnBs going out of business (October 13) — No position recorded

THE ONE AGREEMENT

  - Terminate City Manager Jon Rorie (July 23) — Perreault voted yes, as did Davis

THE ONE AGREEMENT, IN CONTEXT

On July 23, the council voted to terminate City Manager Jon Rorie. Davis and Perreault both voted yes — the only recorded point of agreement across the thirty-six items.

Davis has since pressed further, fighting to stop what he calls the illegal hiring processes of the last two city managers, which he describes as riddled with major legal issues and coordinated by Perreault and the city attorney. Perreault did not support it.

At the October 13 meeting, Davis described Mayor Brabo’s auto-renewing Pride Month proclamation as “Satanic.” The proclamation itself renews annually without a council vote, which is the substance of the item Davis brought: it removes the question from future councils.

Davis also sponsored a September 14 resolution requiring council approval before the city follows state-level flag directives, which he characterized as “evil flag” directives honoring the activist Gloria Steinem. Perreault did not support it.

WHAT THIS RECORD IS, AND IS NOT

This is a record of positions, not of outcomes. It shows what Davis brought and how Perreault answered. It does not show which items passed, which were tabled, which were removed from the agenda before a vote, or how the other three members of the council voted.

Five further items were left off because Davis did not bring them. On each, Perreault voted yes and Davis voted no: the motion ending debate on the 15th Street resolution, the two April 13 motions removing Davis as liaison to the Recreation Advisory Committee and the Human Relations Council, and the two June 8 motions ending debate on the consent agenda and the budget.

Councilman Max Perreault has not been interviewed for this article and is welcome to comment at the same length, without editing. Mayor Ellen Brabo and the City Attorney are likewise invited to respond. Positions on the three unrecorded items will be corrected on request if the minutes show otherwise. No court or public body has found any hiring process described here to be unlawful; that characterization is Councilman Davis’s.

Sources: City of Washington council agendas and minutes, December 15, 2025 through October 13, 2026, and meetings attended by The Pamlico Scoop. Item descriptions are as brought to council. Where a phrase is Councilman Davis’s characterization rather than the language of a motion, it appears in quotation marks and is attributed to him.