How to Purchase an Appointed Greensboro City Council Member: The Case of Jamilla Pinder and Roy Carroll

Jamilla Pinder was appointed to the Greensboro City Council on January 31, 2025, to fill the at-large seat left vacant by the passing of Mayor Pro Tempore Yvonne Johnson. She was then officially sworn in at the Council meeting on February 4, 2025.

On August 15, 2025, a telling email arrived in her inbox.

The subject line was innocuous: “Billboard space.”

The sender was a Brand Marketing Manager at The Carroll Companies, the real estate empire of developer Roy Carroll.

“Roy Carroll would like to offer an in-kind donation to your campaign,” the email read, offering two months of billboard space on three faces at the highly trafficked intersection of Battleground and Wendover Avenues. The message even included ad specifications and an offer to design the artwork if needed.

At first glance, this might look like ordinary campaign support. In reality, it reveals a deeper, long-running problem with the way Greensboro fills vacancies on its City Council: the transformation of caretaker appointments into springboards for entrenched political power, often greased by money and influence.

The Problem with Appointed Incumbency

City Council appointments are meant to provide temporary stewardship until voters have their say. They are not supposed to create political incumbents before an election ever occurs.

But appointed officials inevitably gain advantages that other candidates cannot match:

Name recognition from serving in office.

Visibility in local media and at civic events.

Access to resources like staff, contacts, and donors.

Prestige of the council title itself.

When powerful backers step in early — as Carroll did with Pinder — the advantage compounds. The message to other would-be candidates is clear: don’t bother running. You’ll be outspent and out-publicized before you even start.

Greensboro’s Long Pattern

Greensboro’s history is filled with examples of appointees who parlayed a temporary seat into long-term power. Recently:

Tony Wilkins (2012) – Appointed, then elected in 2013 and 2015.

Justin Outling (2015) – Appointed, elected, and later ran for mayor.

Goldie Wells (2017) – Appointed, then re-electe.

Hugh Holston (2021) – Appointed, then retained his seat in the 2022 election.

Jamilla Pinder (2025) – The City Council filled a seat following the death of Mayor Pro Tempore Yvonne Johnson.

The lesson is unmistakable: in Greensboro, appointment almost always equals election.

The Carroll Companies Email: A Case Study in Influence

Roy Carroll’s offer to Pinder is more than generosity; it is an investment. Billboards at Battleground and Wendover represent tens of thousands of dollars in advertising value. Such visibility could give Pinder instant name recognition before any rival candidate files to run.

Carroll is not a neutral player in city politics. As one of Greensboro’s most powerful developers, his business interests regularly intersect with zoning decisions, infrastructure funding, and council approvals. Offering campaign support to an unelected appointee just weeks into her service blurs the line between democratic representation and private influence.

This is how “appointed incumbency” becomes entrenched — not through debate or votes, but through early, strategic purchases of loyalty and visibility.

Why It Matters

The purpose of an appointment is to fill a gap, not to tilt an election. Allowing appointees to run — with a head start in visibility and donor backing — undermines the democratic process by discouraging competition.

The fairest solution is simple:

Require appointees to pledge not to run in the next election.

Increase transparency in the appointment process.

These measures would ensure that when voters go to the polls, they are choosing from a level playing field — not ratifying a deal already struck in the corridors of power.

A Familiar Path

The case of Jamilla Pinder is not unique, but it is instructive. She was appointed during a moment of civic mourning for Yvonne Johnson, entrusted to serve as a placeholder until voters could decide.

Instead, she's being groomed with free billboards by the city’s most influential developer.

It’s the old Greensboro story: appointment begets election, election begets influence and influence begets obligation.

The people of Greensboro deserve better. They deserve elections decided by voters, not by who can light up the biggest billboard at Battleground and Wendover.