Cabarrus Cheap Seats

This January, Coy Privette announced his decision to stay on the Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners. It was considered such a non-news item that some local outlets put in their print editions; but not on the Web.

That followed a statement Privette made three months ago (in late October) that he might leave if the Cabarrus County GOP Executive Committee would appoint former Cabarrus County Commissioner Robert Freeman in his place. (Freeman had lost his re-election bid to Privette, White, and Mynatt in the 2006 GOP primaries)

That was after a proposal that he made in late September that the Cabarrus County Republican Men’s Club officers (at the time, Privette held the 2nd-highest position) appoint a special committee to mediate between he and the Cabarrus County Republican Party Executive Board. (Note: It’s apart from this timeline, but the membership of the Cabarrus County Republican Men’s Club voted in October to oust Coy Privette as an officer)

He’d made that proposal for a Men’s Club committee, because the Chairman of the Cabarrus County GOP - Chris McCartan - in a September 21, 2007 statement, that the local GOP would not start considering a replacement for Privette until he resigned per North Carolina Law. This was in response to Coy Privette’s September 18 announcement that he would resign…if he could pick his successor.

That announcement followed his announcement on August 29 that he wouldn’t resign.

And, that announcement followed the one that he gave following his conviction for six counts of aiding and abetting prostitution where he said was beginning a “journey to earn back the trust” of the community.

Apparently, this “Journey to Earn Back Trust” involves a lot of lying.

Since his conviction from my fellow GOP members usually started conversations with “What are we going to do about Coy?” I shrugged my shoulders and kept quiet.

My answer to that same question now is: “Expose him and his remaining allies for the mendacious idiots they are.”

Why?

Well, his Journey To Earn Back Trust was really a Journey to Last Longer Than Most Folks Would Pay Attention. Here are two reasons why citizens of this county should continue to pay attention to Coy Privette.

Privette’s Worst Offense

First, Privette’s worst offense is the one that really didn’t get the most press. It wasn’t that he committed adultery. It wasn’t that it happened with a prostitute. The worst offense wasn’t the check fraud charges the DA didn’t pursue.

The worst offense that he was willing to shamelessly exploit someone he deemed lesser than him. Throughout his whole tryst, Coy Privette leveraged his connections and reputation to exploit another human being and then nearly get away with it. According to an interview with WCNC, Tiffany Summers was at a job search and training facility when Coy Privette offered her a ride home. It during during first meeting that he accosted her.

If you want, you can search the Internet to find out the remainder of the lurid details of their relationship; but where it was supposed to end is telling. Ms. Summers decided to attempt cash the blank checks she was given by Coy Privette at a local First Charter branch. What was supposed to happen: when she attempted to cash the checks, there would be enough suspicion for them to summon the authorities. At that point, it would be her word versus his. Of course, it worked a little differently than that. When police questioned her, she provided evidence of their relationship in the form of cell phone pictures; and that was what turned the investigation on Coy Privette.

Had Tiffany Summers not had evidence of their relationship, Coy Privette would still be the standard-bearer for the local Conservatives and Tiffany Summers would be sitting in a prison cell on felony check fraud charges. Apparently, this was Privette’s plan all along. It’s not much of a stretch to believe that he’s pulled a trick like this before. As Gary Pearson of Talking About Politics said following Coy’s conviction: “As for being a first-time offender, Privette must be the unluckiest man on earth to get caught the one and only time he did this.”

And it’s the extent of his predatory nature is what made me rather comfortable about getting aggressive over the past couple of months about advocating for his removal from any position of influence. I don’t have much use for those in or out of politics; liberal, conservative, moderate, or otherwise; Christian or not who will exploit those who Jesus referred to as “the least of these” for their own ends. The one fact that people who remain sympathetic to Coy can’t escape is that he exploited a vulnerable person for his own criminal perversions and was willing to let them take the hit for it.

The Corruption Continues

And that brings me to my second point: Coy Privette and his allies will continue to stoop to dirty tricks to scrounge up any power that they can.

Prior to his arrest, Coy Privette wrote an op-ed in the Kannapolis Citizen citing his opposition to the North Carolina Research Campus (NCRC) Tax Increment Financing (TIF). The editor of the Kannapolis Citizen, Joanie Morris, was nice enough to publish my counter-argument in favor of using TIF to finance infrastructure improvements around in the NCRC. Used to being His Lord Highness of The Last Word, Coy Privette wasn’t going to let that stand - so, he had the Cabarrus Taxpayers’ Association take out an ad opposing my position (note: you can read the text of the ad here - scroll down to July 1, 2007). This ad appeared in the same issue with his entry in the police blotter. One of the last things he did before his mid-July arrest was to buy this ad with his friends from the Cabarrus Taxpayers’ Association. The ad had the same copy was what appeared on Harold Smith’s website in addition to that: it had Coy Privette’s signature, and a line at the bottom that stated that it was paid for by the Cabarrus Taxpayers’ Association.

Fast-forward to January 2008. The Cabarrus Taxpayers’ Association files their End-of-Year Semi-Annual Statement on the January 14th stating that they HAVE NOT SPENT ONE DIME for July 1, 2007 through December 31, 2007. This means that:

1. The Kannapolis Citizen gave them a free ad (even then, they would have to report it as an in-kind contribution), or - more likely:
2. They are trying to conceal the fact they took out the ad in the first place - for some, yet-unknown reason. (see Updates for latest)
   

I notified the Cabarrus County Board of Elections regarding the ad and they stated they’d look into the matter.

The issue is as long as Privette remains in office - he’ll try to influence rhetoric on the issues for his own ends. And, from what I learned at the Cabarrus County Board of Elections office: he and his friends will ignore the law in doing it.

Part Two tomorrow. (Update: Here it is)

Update - 5 Feb: According to the County Board of Elections, the Treasurer of the Cabarrus Taxpayers’ Association provided documentation this week that showed that the check written for the ad failed to clear in more than 100 days because of some mixup with bank account addresses.

I’m still skeptical.  Think about it.  An ad bought in July doesn’t get reported on a January 14th report; but when someone comes asking about the transaction at the end of January the Treasurer has all of the documentation handy to defend his omission?