Democrat Pat Cotham’s turbulent tenure on Mecklenburg commission comes to a quiet end
For more than a decade, Pat Cotham was a fixture on the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners.
She wielded the gavel as board chair, leading the ouster of an influential county manager.
She was vocal about the causes she cared about. And she was unafraid to tangle with other officials.
But as a new iteration of the board gathered this week to ceremonially take their oaths of office and honor the longtime commissioner with the county’s highest honor, Cotham stayed home.
Her tenure on the board came to a quiet end Monday after an eventful, and at times tumultuous, 12 years.
The Democrat previously was the top vote-getter among at-large candidates in all but two of her elections since joining the board in 2012. She was known by many for her advocacy for the homeless, incarcerated people and survivors of domestic violence. She pushed for more aid and made a tradition of handing out food on election night to people experiencing homelessness.
Still, Cotham finished fourth in a March primary for the board’s three at-large seats. Cotham finished behind newcomer Yvette Townsend-Ingram, who was sworn in Monday.
Some attributed her defeat to her daughter, state Rep. Tricia Cotham, backing GOP initiatives after switching parties and giving Republicans a veto-proof supermajority last year.
But the elder Cotham, 74, was herself a divisive figure at times among her fellow commissioners and local Democrats. She declined an interview request for this story but previously told The Charlotte Observer she has “no regrets” about her career.
“I was focused on being a county commissioner for all people, whether they’re Republicans or Democrats, whether they’re in jail, homeless or just got here yesterday. I was focused on that. I wasn’t focused on party politics,” she said in March.
Passion for community
Cotham was involved in local politics and activism before she was first elected to the county commission in 2012. She has held roles within the Democratic Party ranging from local positions to State Executive Committee member and Democratic National Convention delegate.
Current board Chairman Mark Jerrell estimated Tuesday Cotham has been involved in public life in Charlotte for more than 30 years.
“It’s always important to point out that service doesn’t start or end with elected office. Title doesn’t make you a leader,” he said as the commission inducted Cotham into the Order of the Hornet.
When a Charlotte City Council member in 2021 floated the idea of criminalizing giving food, money or clothing to people who are homeless, Cotham took to social media to say she’d go to “the slammer for multiple violations of hot sandwiches, ding dongs, assorted cokes, chips, blankets, tents, bus tickets, socks, hand warmers, rain ponchos, hats, gloves, hoodies, and hugs.”
Cotham also volunteers with women’s shelters and uses her professional experience with recruiting to help formerly incarcerated people find jobs. On the commission, she was a vocal critic of solitary confinement, especially for teens in juvenile detention.
“How can this be right?” Cotham asked in 2017 after an ACLU report brought renewed attention to the practice in North Carolina. “… These are our kids. They’re going to be back in our schools. And what kind of shape will they be in?”
Eventful commission tenure
Once elected, Cotham quickly ascended to leadership on the board by becoming chair in December 2012 as scandal surrounded then-County Manager Harry Jones, who was under fire for an error-ridden property revaluation in 2011 and problems with the county’s social services and mental health agencies.
As chair, Cotham led the effort to fire Jones, irking fellow Democratic commissioners who felt she worked too closely with Republicans on his ouster. The Observer described her at the time as having “a fierce and unwavering conviction that she was doing the right thing, a willingness to cut backroom deals with those who agreed, and an eagerness to cut out those who didn’t.”
She lost the chairmanship after a year and was defeated in another leadership race in 2014 despite being the top vote-getter in that year’s election. Until that point, the top vote-getter typically was named chair.
As a “superdelegate” at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, she chose to support Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton despite Clinton winning the North Carolina primary, saying she thought he’d have a better chance at defeating Donald Trump in a general election. Superdelegates aren’t bound by the results of their state’s primary or caucus.
In 2022, Cotham told the Observer she wasn’t sure Democrats holding every seat on the county commission was a good thing. And the same year, school board member and county commission candidate Jennifer De La Jara wrote an opinion piece in Queen City Nerve titled “Pat Cotham Is a Republican and It’s Time Democrats Admit It.”
Cotham was also one of three county commissioners to oppose a record-setting school bond measure in 2023.
She tangled frequently with longtime board Chairman George Dunlap. In 2019, Dunlap accused her of leaking information to the media when she questioned the legality of commissioners negotiating budget changes via email and phone calls.
Earlier this year, Cotham accused Dunlap of blocking her efforts to get a proclamation recognizing Pride Month on the commission’s agenda. Dunlap said Cotham failed to follow proper procedure, and a resolution passed weeks later.
She developed a close friendship with fellow Commissioner Vilma Leake, who also clashes with Dunlap. Despite public squabbles earlier in Cotham’s tenure over board leadership and religion, the pair have been allies in recent years. Cotham assisted Leake, who uses a cane or walker at meetings, with getting to and from the dais and technology.
Cotham received more votes than all other at-large candidates in five elections. But her support fell off in 2024.
The Tricia effect
Tricia Cotham’s party switch loomed large over her mother’s 2024 reelection bid, multiple political strategists told the Observer after her loss, as some Democrats looked to take out their frustration on the elder Cotham.
The commissioner’s own tumultuous history was also a factor, longtime Democratic campaign manager Dan McCorkle said at the time.
“There was a suspicion of Pat. It was in the back of everyone’s mind, but they continued to vote for her because Pat would come to Democratic stuff and be a Democrat,” he said.
Cotham didn’t lay blame for her loss on her daughter.
In the days after the primary, she said while “everybody seems to feel like they’re an expert on my daughter and myself,” as a commissioner she’s faced “pushback for a long time” from some groups within the Democratic Party.
“A lot of these groups try to bully elected officials, and I wasn’t going to be bullied,” she said.
Honoring ‘a classy lady’
As the new slate of county commissioners gathered for their first meeting Tuesday night, high on the agenda was awarding Cotham the Order of the Hornet.
Among those who spoke warmly about the now former commissioner was Townsend-Ingram, who recalled Cotham reaching out to her after Election Day and again on inauguration day to wish her well.
“Commissioner Cotham is a classy lady, always has been,” she said.
Leake, who read the proclamation Tuesday, bemoaned that Cotham wasn’t in attendance. Cotham told the Observer she declined to attend the event because she didn’t want to draw attention from the new board.
“I appreciate her support of me … When others didn’t, she did,” Leake said.
Vice Chair Leigh Altman estimated Cotham has spent “thousands of hours” working in her capacity as a county commissioner.
“Twelve years is a tremendous portion of one’s life to dedicate to public service,” she said.
This story was originally published December 5, 2024 at 11:52 AM.
