Read moreA 2,367 square-foot house, built about 2016, sits deep in the woods off Poplar Hill Road east of Fayetteville. You can’t see the house from the street. Signs in the driveway say, “Smile. You’re on camera.”
Tax bills for 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 list the owners as Robert and Dion Clark with a property location and bill mailing address as 435 Poplar Hill Road.
Robert “Ben” Clark is a Democratic state senator. Since 2013 he’s represented District 21, encompassing all of Hoke and part of Cumberland county. Ben Clark’s wife Dion is a spokeswoman for State Auditor Beth Wood. In 2015, the Clarks bought the land where the house sits. About two years later, they borrowed more than $200,000 to build the house.
It sits outside District 21.
The Clarks say they don’t live at 435 Poplar Hill Road. They’re registered to vote at a house in Raeford, where Ben’s parents live. It’s in Senate District 21.