Commissioner takes leave of absence from Meck board, raising questions about next steps
Mecklenburg County commissioners have been told that longtime county board member Ella Scarborough will step aside indefinitely and will not be paid during her absence.
The news, first reported by WSOC, raises questions about whether county leaders could or should have more thoroughly explored their options to replace Scarborough after her spotty participation in and absence from meetings.
WSOC reported that Scarborough will not seek reelection, citing her son Troy.
Multiple county leaders, including board chairman George Dunlap, have said previously that they do not have the authority to remove a commissioner. On Thursday, Dunlap told The Charlotte Observer there is “no such thing” as a formal leave of absence.
Two experts, though, told the Observer that there is, in fact, a North Carolina statute that lays out such a process. At least one current commissioner said the county should have acted more quickly or done a better job explaining the board’s options. Another said the board should act quickly and transparently going forward.
The statute does not create a way for a board to remove a commissioner. It does, however, allow the board to issue a replacement if the official issues a formal request for leave and if the board votes to approve that request. Over the past several months at least, Dunlap has said Scarborough’s future on the board was entirely out of their control.
In an email to commissioners on Thursday, Dunlap said that he and Tyrone Wade, the county attorney, still have to work out the details regarding Scarborough’s seat on the board and the county’s options going forward.
County spokespeople did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
Scarborough’s ability to participate
Scarborough, who has been a commissioner since 2014, was the top vote-getter in the 2020 election. When she was elected to Charlotte City Council in 1987, she was the first Black woman to do so, and served 10 years as a district and at-large representative.
She was also a U.S. Senate candidate and a two-time Charlotte mayoral candidate.
“Commissioner Scarborough is an icon in this community, and I hope she is afforded the dignity and respect she deserves at this difficult time,” commissioner Leigh Altman said Friday in a text message to the Observer.
For months Scarborough’s ability to keep up with the job’s demands have been in question.
Last spring, the at-large commissioner repeatedly sought to participate in meetings remotely, even after her colleagues largely returned to gathering in person.
When she did attend meetings remotely, Scarborough rarely participated in discussion and often did not respond when she was called upon to vote.
Several current and former commissioners recalled episodes before the pandemic when Scarborough appeared confused or unable to follow discussion, the Observer previously reported.
In September, the county attorney looked into allegations that someone else voted on Scarborough’s behalf during a meeting when a voice that did not sound like the commissioner’s responded to a roll call vote.
The county ultimately dropped the review.
Multiple county leaders, including Dunlap, have said they do not have the authority to remove a commissioner. Two North Carolina legal experts told the Observer there appear to be at least two ways to proceed, including one, defined in statute, that would allow for a formal leave of absence that would open up the possibility of nominating a replacement.
Next steps
The Observer’s attempts to reach Scarborough’s children, who have previously helped her with technology during remote meetings, have been unsuccessful. Scarborough has not participated in recent meetings, even remotely.
On Thursday, Dunlap told the Observer that Scarborough had notified the county months ago — likely through her children — that she was asking for an indefinite leave of absence.
He told the Observer on Thursday that, “The truth of the matter is there is no such thing as a leave of absence.”
Gerry Cohen, a former legislative director at the N.C. General Assembly, pointed to a statute that would allow for that formal leave.
According to the statute, an official may apply for a formal leave, which can be granted “with the consent of the board of county commissioners.”
Cohen said that consent would require a vote by the board. It is unclear what exactly Scarborough or her children requested in terms of a formal leave of absence.
In his email to commissioners, Dunlap said he “laid out several options regarding Ella’s service” during a conversation with her children. “One of those options was to step aside while on leave and the family was to advise me of their decision before our next meeting.”
He added that “stepping aside does not mean that she will resign” and that the board will need to review its options as far as its ability to seek a replacement.
Seeking a replacement?
Frayda Bluestein, a professor of public law and government at UNC’s School of Government in Chapel Hill, said the county has at least two options regarding their next move.
First, it depends on whether Scarborough wants to go through the process laid out by statute. That would allow the commissioners to formally approve her leave of absence, and then seek a replacement.
The second option is to more informally step aside. This would not require approval by the board and would not appear to allow the board to replace her.
“When we’ve inquired about this in the past, the advice has been ‘There’s nothing we can do’ and, ‘There’s no such thing as a medical leave of absence’,” commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell told the Observer. “I’ve always taken it from the county that there’s nothing we can do.”
Now, that notion appears to be in question, and raises further questions about whether the county has investigated its options with due diligence.
“This is a story that should have been written years ago,” Rodriguez-McDowell said. “Either the attorney didn’t have the latest information or they didn’t raise it to that level, and it should have been.”
She added that Scarborough has “a very important legacy” in Charlotte and that, given the circumstances, she would like to pursue any option to issue a temporary replacement for her seat on the board.
Commissioner Mark Jerrell said Scarborough’s condition rides a sensitive line between personal health issues and public record, but added that “now that the genie is out of the bottle, we need to act, we need to act swiftly and we need to act with transparency.”
On whether the board should consider issuing a replacement, he said “it should be looked at and considered.”
“We have to consider all options — we don’t work in isolation, we work for the public,” he said. “We have to be transparent and we have to do whatever is best for Mecklenburg County.”
Dunlap told commissioners in an email that the board will discuss the issue in more detail at its next meeting, which is currently scheduled for Feb. 16.
Staff writer Lauren Lindstrom contributed to this story.
This story was originally published February 4, 2022 at 2:27 PM.
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