Who is Chris Carney, and can the town force out Mooresville mayor?
The Mooresville Board of Commissioners requested Mayor Chris Carney resign after passing a “no confidence” resolution in a 4-2 vote on Monday.
Carney told The Charlotte Observer he intends to stay in office despite being the subject of a viral scandal that has eroded trust in town leadership.
Carney was caught on town hall video in 2024 with a female town consultant late at night. He didn’t have pants on “for an extended period,” according to a lawsuit filed against the town. The controversy spurred subsequent lawsuits alleging retaliation in the incident’s fallout.
Here’s what to know about Carney and what might come next if he chooses to stay in office.
Who is Chris Carney?
Carney is a Navy veteran who served from 1991-1999. The Republican was first elected to the town commission in 2005, and his fellow commissioners appointed him mayor pro tem in 2009, according to the Mooresville website.
He left local politics in 2011 when he was appointed to serve the remainder of North Carolina Sen. James Forrester’s term, who died in office. Carney represented Iredell, Lincoln and Gaston Counties in the state Senate until 2013.
Carney returned to Mooresville government in 2023 when the city elected him mayor.
The scandal happened about a year into his first mayoral term.
WBTV filed a civil lawsuit in June 2025 against Mooresville because the town refused to release town hall video from the night Carney was reportedly pantless in the public building at night. Several other lawsuits have since been filed by former employees, alleging they were retaliated against for raising concerns about the mayor and told to conceal evidence.
Carney has called allegations of impropriety “unfounded” and said he was drinking with town officials at a restaurant when he got sick the night of the incident. He had to go inside, and the female consultant was assisting him, he said.
He was reelected mayor in 2025. His term will end in 2027.
Can Mooresville force out its mayor?
An elected official generally cannot be removed from office except by voters at the next election, said Robert Joyce, a law professor with the University of North Carolina School of Government. The only exceptions are if the official moves outside of their jurisdiction or is convicted of a felony.
“A vote of the council expressing ‘no confidence’ or censuring a mayor is, of course, a strong political statement, but it does not disqualify the mayor from continuing in office,” Joyce said.
The General Assembly could theoretically take steps to remove an official through a local act, Joyce said, but that is extremely rare.
Otherwise, the only way to remove an elected official who won’t resign is through a legal process called “amotion,” Joyce said. That’s where the town board removes one of its members for just cause, which is “rare but not unknown” and also must pass a high bar.
The official’s act or lack thereof must “hamper the functioning of the office to which he or she was elected or create safety, security, or liability concerns,” according to a court ruling.
Can Mooresville hold a recall election?
North Carolina is a “Dillon Rule” state, meaning municipalities only have powers explicitly granted to them by the state legislature.
Some municipalities are allowed to hold recall elections if enough voters are dissatisfied with an elected official’s performance. Recalls are special elections that put a politician back on the ballot mid-term, but they have a relatively high bar for removal and are often unsuccessful.
Mooresville voters have no such legal mechanism to forcibly remove their mayor because the state has not granted Mooresville the recall election power.
