Federal lawsuit alleges history of sex discrimination in Cabarrus Republican Party
Plans to consider ousting a female member of the executive board of the Cabarrus County Republican Party moved forward Tuesday despite a lawsuit alleging sex discrimination, according to court records and emails reviewed by The Charlotte Observer.
The lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina alleges “pervasive” discrimination by the county party and its leadership going back at least three years. It names nine current and former county GOP leaders, including chairman Addul Rahman El Ali and Kevin Crutchfield, an executive committee member and the Republican nominee for state House District 83 in Cabarrus and Rowan counties.
The suit focuses on an effort by the county party to consider ousting Jennifer Dunbar, president of the Cabarrus Republican Women, from the party’s executive committee. The county party’s organization plan awards an executive seat to the women’s group president, according to the lawsuit.
Citing “gross inefficiency,” the party held a hearing Tuesday and removed Dunbar from her post, according to an attorney for the defendants.
Dunbar’s attorney filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to prevent the procedures from moving forward, but U.S. District Court Judge Loretta C. Biggs denied the request Tuesday.
The lawsuit alleges there was no just cause for her removal. Instead, it argues Ali and the party are removing her because she is an outspoken woman. It cites treatment of the previous Cabarrus Republican Women president and other Republican women in Cabarrus County as evidence of pervasive discrimination.
Dunbar’s attorney, Tyler Brooks, said he hoped to resolve the issue in mediation, but Brooks said Monday Ali had not agreed to go through the process. The state GOP has declined to respond to his messages asking for intervention, he said.
A spokesman for the North Carolina GOP declined to comment for this story.
In a letter last Monday to the North Carolina GOP chairman and its chief counsel, Brooks said Dunbar “should not have to retain an attorney and file a federal civil rights lawsuit just to protect herself against discrimination from those she works with at the county level.”
“The State GOP cannot say these allegations are unfounded because it has not investigated them,” he wrote. “Instead, it has stuck its head in sand, apparently hoping it will all just disappear.”
In a statement to the Observer, the Cabarrus County Republican party said the lawsuit “which names five women as individual defendants, is entirely meritless and the Cabarrus County Republican Party intends to fully defend itself against these false and outrageous allegations.”
The party said it is “dedicated to promoting an inclusive environment to all” and has one of the most diverse executive committees in the state.
The Cabarrus GOP said it filled two executive committee vacancies this year with women. In 2020, it appointed a woman to fill the remaining State House term of the late Rep. Linda Johnson. The party also launched a campaign called “GOP Looks Like Me,” which showcases and welcomes diversity in the Republican Party, according to the party’s statement.
Based on the advice of its attorneys, the party declined to comment further.
Allegations of discrimination in the Cabarrus GOP
The lawsuit lists several interactions between Republican women and the Cabarrus County Republican Party that it says are evidence of discrimination.
In 2019, the then-president of Cabarrus Republican Women was not seated on the executive committee for four months even though the party’s organization plan says she should be appointed automatically, according to the lawsuit.
The party in 2019 immediately seated the president of the Republican Men’s Club.
The suit and Brooks said county GOP leadership reliably endorses male candidates over female candidates. In one case in a 2019 Concord City Council race, leadership endorsed the male candidate who was unaffiliated over the female Republican candidate, the suit says.
Endorsing another candidate over the Republican in a general election is deemed “party disloyalty,” according to the lawsuit, and could disqualify a person from holding party office for up to five years. No action was taken, the lawsuit says.
Cabarrus GOP ousts Dunbar
In the party’s bid to remove Dunbar from the executive committee, it argues Dunbar and the Cabarrus Republican Women are organizing a forum for school board candidates. Rather than only inviting the candidates endorsed by the county party, the forum would welcome all Republican candidates.
In a notice sent to Dunbar, the Cabarrus GOP said the forum showed her “clear willingness to act against (the) expressed will of this committee.”
Dunbar’s attorney said the Cabarrus Republican Women and the county party are independent entities, and the women’s group is not subject to the county party’s preferences on who it should invite to candidate forums.
The party also says Dunbar made a public comment about an “incident” that occurred at the committee’s June 6 board meeting. The comment was negative, the party says, but its notice doesn’t make clear what that incident was or what Dunbar said.
“In sum, your actions represent a habitual neglect of your power and duties as a member of the Executive Committee,” the party’s note states. You have actively worked contrary to the efforts of the Executive Committee and its policies — in fact, you have openly stated your desire to work against the Committee. This will not be tolerated.”
‘Swept under the rug’
The suit alleges the party and leaders named in the suit violated Dunbar’s rights under the 14th Amendment and defamed her.
Brooks, Dunbar’s attorney, said the suit sought to prevent Dunbar from losing her seat.
“Discrimination in violation of federal law is no trifling matter and should be vigorously investigated, not swept under the rug,” Brooks wrote to leadership at the state party. “Otherwise, how can the Party claim to stand against sex discrimination and for the rights of women?”
This story was originally published August 2, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
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