An NC county wants to set term limits for its commissioners. Does state law allow that?
Citizens at a Lincoln County commissioners meeting Monday weighed in on a proposal to set term limits for the county’s governing body — with most speaking in favor.
Lincolnton resident Alex Patton, who won the Republican primary for county commissioner in May and has previously served as a commissioner, spoke during the meeting.
“Most boards in Lincoln County already have that,” said Patton, who is facing no Democratic challengers in November. “(In the Department of Social Services), you come off after two terms, and most of the boards I’ve served on have been that way. You have to take time off.”
Even Commissioner Carrol Mitchem, who has been on the board for 20 years, said the county should set an example for others in the state by implementing term limits. Mitchem ran for reelection this year but lost in the Republican primary.
“I don’t think you can be a real, true conservative unless you’re in favor of term limits,” said Mitchem.
Lincolnton resident Dale Punch used U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-California, to make his case for the motion. Pelosi served as Speaker of the House for eight years, but stepped down when Republicans gained the House majority in 2022.
“Think about term limits,” Punch said. “Think about what (they) do at Congress.”
The prevailing proposal calls for enacting two four-year term limits, and requiring commissioners who have served consecutive terms to take four years off before running again.
But is that legal in North Carolina?
What does North Carolina law say?
Setting term limits for county commissioners goes against what is in the North Carolina Constitution, according to a blog post in Coates’ Canons NC Government Law, written by Robert Joyce, at UNC School of Government. Joyce is an expert on elections law, public employment law, local government law, and the law of governmental transparency.
The state Constitution outlines qualifications, which provides that anyone who is at least 21 and has never been convicted of certain crimes is eligible to run for county commissioner.
A 1992 N.C. Supreme Court ruling in Moore v. Knightdale Board of Education held that qualifications cannot be added in order to run for commissioner. In that case, the court struck down a law that required the holder of one elective office must resign before filing to run for another office if the terms would overlap.
“An incumbent office holder who would be barred from running for reelection at the end of the imposed maximum number of terms would face an unconstitutional additional qualification for office,” according to Joyce’s post. “Only through an amendment to the North Carolina Constitution could term limits be imposed on any state or local elective office in North Carolina.”
Lincoln County Attorney Megan Gilbert explained, if commissioners vote to implement term limits, the decision would need to be reviewed by the county’s state legislators, N.C. Senator Ted Alexander or N.C. Rep. Heather Rhyne, who was appointed to replace Jason Saine in August.
“Any change that happens would have to go through the state,” Gilbert said. “It’s ultimately up to the legislature that proposes it as to how it can be written.”
The decision would likely have to clear another hurdle, too.
Commissioner Bud Cesena told The Charlotte Observer that legislators typically won’t submit proposals from counties at the state level unless the decision is unanimous.
“The custom of the legislature is that if a county commission is not united … they will not even take it up,” Cesena said. “So, it’ll be interesting to see if it goes further.”
Could other changes to the board be on the way?
Denver resident Byron Sackett, a former commissioner candidate whoalso spoke in favor of term limits, suggested the board implement districts to allow representation from all areas of the county.
Lincoln County commissioners are elected to at-large positions, meaning all five could be from the same area.
“One of these days we’re going to be holding these meetings in Denver, North Carolina,” Sackett said. “I believe the power is going to be in Denver. That’s where the money is. That’s where the growth is at this time. Every county commissioner sitting up there is going to be from Denver if you’re not careful about what you do.”
Though Denver is the most populated area of Lincoln County, only one commissioner – Cesena – lives in the area. Glenn Fiscus was the lone Denver resident who ran for commissioner this year, but lost in the Republican primary.
Cesena told the Observer that voting by district could mean some seats on the board would automatically go to Denver residents due to its sizable population that is “four times more” than the western end of the county – a move that some voters could be opposed to.
“There’s a lot of ‘how should we do this?’ and ‘how should we not do this?’” Cesena said. Obviously, I’d like to have another person from the east on this board…but I think we all work pretty well together.”
Next steps
Mitchem made a motion to implement a limit of two four-year terms, with four years off for commissioners. With Commissioner Anita McCall absent, the vote was 2-2, so the motion failed.
Cesena countered with a motion to wait until the new board of commissioners are seated to make a decision, but the vote ended in another tie.
“I’m not opposed to term limits,” Cesena said. “What I am opposed to is moving through this so quickly.”
Commissioners ultimately decided to leave the public hearing open until their Oct. 7 meeting for more citizen input The meeting will be at the Lincoln County Administration Building, 353 N. Generals Blvd., at 6:30 p.m.
