Another Member of Cary’s Senior Management Team Departs Town Government

Dan Ault, an assistant town manager and chief innovation officer for the Town of Cary, resigned earlier this month, leaving open one of four assistant roles that report directly to the town manager. 

Ault’s departure came less than one month after his former boss, Sean Stegall, resigned following alleged misappropriation of town funds and abuses of power. The State Bureau of Investigation opened a criminal inquiry into Stegall’s spending last week at the request of the Wake County district attorney and Cary police.

A town spokesperson confirmed that Ault resigned on January 8 but did not immediately respond to INDY’s questions about whether his resignation was related to Stegall’s. 

Ault has not responded to a request for comment.

Ault reported directly to Stegall for about 17 years, first in Elgin, Illinois, and then in Cary. In 2008, Ault worked as an intern for the City of Elgin, where Stegall was city manager. In 2010, Stegall tapped Ault to help with the rollout of Elgin’s 311 citizen information service. In 2016, four months after Stegall accepted the Cary town manager position, he recruited Ault to come work with him again and help launch a similar 311 program in Cary. 

In his book The Top of the Arc, published last August, Stegall wrote that he and Ault shared a similar zest for local government. “We both recall wanting to be city managers at ridiculously young ages,” he recounted. In another passage, Stegall wrote that Ault “was very bright, he was tech savvy, he embraced responsibility, he worked his ass off, and he would never surrender to can’t.” (“Surrendering to can’t,” in Stegall’s parlance, means accepting the status quo rather than innovating.) 

According to a 2021 organizational chart, Ault managed Cary’s 311, research and development, public works, and neighborhood services departments. An updated version of the chart from January 7, 2026 (one day before he resigned) showed Ault still reporting to the town manager but with no departments to oversee; departments that Ault formerly oversaw were reassigned to other assistant managers and the chief strategy officer.  

Former deputy town manager Russ Overton was sworn in as Cary’s interim town manager last month. The town did not immediately respond to a question about any other recent town staff departures.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.