The reason given by Cabarrus County Commissioner Coy Privette not leaving his office: the local GOP didn’t provide him with an appropriate successor.
This is hogwash, and I hope to demonstrate as to why with these three facts.
1. It was never the job of the local GOP to offer Privette his choice of successor
North Carolina General Statue 153A-27.1 is clear:
If the member who vacated the seat was elected as a nominee of a political party, the board of commissioners, the chairman of the board, or the clerk of superior court, as the case may be, shall consult the county executive committee of the appropriate political party before filling the vacancy, and shall appoint the person recommended by the county executive committee of the political party of which the commissioner being replaced was a member, if the party makes a recommendation within 30 days of the occurrence of the vacancy.
The process starts with a vacancy and AFTER THAT: the Executive Board is consulted.
Very few things that the local Executive Committee is described by the North Carolina General Statutes - so it’s important to make an effort to follow the letter and spirit of the law. Coy was asking us to short-circuit the process by not allowing the appropriate officials consult the board - in this case the board’s chair and the other commissioners. It was his playing fast and loose with the law that brought about his conviction - he shouldn’t expect us to follow his example.
2. Coy’s friends did the most lobbying for his job
It would be a little disingenuous to suggest that even though replacing Privette wasn’t an agenda item that it wasn’t talked about - outside of the meeting. However, here’s the funny thing: the people doing the most lobbying of board members for Coy’s job were his friends…all of whom did so in secret and wouldn’t come out in public calling for his resignation. No, I’m not going to name names; but it’s important to be clear about who wants power without going to the voters.
3. The party is not divided
If the local GOP were actually divided, then the Executive Committee would have been at odds on what to do about Privette - they weren’t. The local GOP still believes the best thing for him to do is resign unconditionally AND no board member has been making any efforts to steer the party towards an illegal compromise.
In the past year, I’ve found that the people who say that the local GOP is divided is those who wish that it were. A division is a separation of a significant fraction from the whole. Coy Privette no longer represents a significant fraction of this community or his party - just a misbegotten fringe.
