Disputed Cabarrus commission seat now in clerk’s hands because of lawsuit, delay
With 20 days passed and no quorum on Monday, the clerk of court will now decide who fills a vacant Cabarrus County commission seat.
The decision is left to Cabarrus County Clerk of Court Bill Baggs after county commissioners failed to meet Monday to vote on a replacement for former commissioner Chris Measmer who resigned in April to serve in the North Carolina Senate. The board’s earlier pick, Lamarie Austin-Stripling, was blocked by a judge’s preliminary injunction. State law hands the appointment power to Baggs since 20 days have passed since Measmer’s resignation.
Commissioners Lynn Shue and Kenny Wortman were absent from a scheduled work session Monday night. Shue, who receives kidney dialysis and regularly attends meetings remotely, told The Charlotte Observer he was unable to attend due to his health issues. Wortman told the Observer he was ill, received a doctor’s note for a sinus infection and informed the board clerk he could not attend about an hour before the meeting.
At the end of the meeting where no action was taken, County Attorney Daniel Peterson confirmed the commission had run out of time to replace Measmer. Baggs now has 10 days from Tuesday to fill the vacancy, according to state statute.
Shue said he is pleased the decision will be made by Baggs. Shue previously said he felt he was intentionally excluded from the appointment process after Measmer scheduled an early morning meeting that conflicted with his kidney treatments to vote on the seat.
“It’s probably worked out the best because we’ve got an adversarial board already. It’s very contentious and the tension is so tight you can feel it when you walk in the chambers,” he told the Observer. “We just don’t see eye to eye on most things. But I think it worked out just fine.”
If he or Wortman had attended Monday’s meeting without the other, Shue expected them to be outvoted by Commissioners Laura Lindsey and Larry Pittman, who previously voted for Austin-Stripling. In the event of a tie, the decision would have been left to Baggs, the clerk of court.
But not every commissioner is pleased.
Pittman said in a Facebook comment on a page for the group “Cabarrus County Citizens Against Tax Hikes & For Government Transparency” that Wortman did not inform anyone he would miss the meeting. Because there was no quorum, Lindsey and Pittman were unable to vote on any county business.
“If someone has a conflict and cannot attend, the normal and respectful thing to do is to inform the person chairing the meeting, or someone in the group, that that is the case,” Pittman wrote Tuesday. “This was not done.”
Pittman did not respond to requests for comment by the Observer via phone and email. Lindsey declined to speak, citing the ongoing litigation against the county over Austin-Stripling’s appointment.
Other Cabarrus County Republicans, including the county GOP’s vice chair Jim Quick and Austin-Stripling, who is the party’s treasurer, said they were disappointed by Wortman and Shue’s absence.
“The taxpayers are paying a salary for the commissioners to perform their duties. I am sure many are disappointed that (two) of their elected representatives did not show up for the community, and that those absences prevented important county business from being conducted,” Austin-Stripling wrote in an email to the Observer.
Wortman said he’s only missed two regular meetings in three years. Wortman was also absent from the April 10 meeting where Lindsey, Pittman and Measmer voted to appoint Austin-Stripling to the commission.
“I don’t consider myself missing that one, truly missing it, that special called BS meeting that got us sued… because nobody bothered to ask me if I could make that in the first place,” Wortman said. “You’re preaching about how we need to work together, and yet you’re online telling people that I didn’t even notify anybody when you didn’t bother to ask.”
Wortman and Shue both said they want Steve Morris to fill Measmer’s seat. Morris served on the board for 12 years during most of which he was the chair. Wortman said Morris is the right choice since he received the third most votes in the March 2024 primary election. Morris received 160 fewer votes than Pittman.
Austin-Stripling said she would be happy if she was appointed by the clerk to the seat.
“I am appreciative of any consideration I am given to serve,” she wrote. “The business of Cabarrus must go on... We cannot afford to have what happened on Monday to be the norm for this county.”
