Judge grants preliminary injunction over Cabarrus commissioner vacancy
Judge Steven Warren wrote that without an injunction, "there is a likelihood of immediate and irreparable harm."
North Carolina Superior Court Judge Steven Warren on Wednesday issued a preliminary injunction that prevents Lamarie Austin-Stripling from taking the oath of office and serving as a Cabarrus County commissioner while a lawsuit is ongoing.
Warren found that at the time of the special called meeting on April 10, where Austin-Stripling was elected to replace former commission chair Chris Measmer, Measmer had not yet resigned from his position and so therefore, there was no vacancy to be filled, according to N.C. General Statute 153A-27, which states, in part, that “If a vacancy occurs on the board of commissioners, the remaining members of the board shall appoint a qualified person to fill the vacancy.”
“Without a preliminary injunction, there is a likelihood of immediate and irreparable harm to the Plaintiffs,” Warren wrote in his order granting preliminary injunction. He noted that if Austin-Stripling were to become a commissioner and vote on any issues before the board, “this may have severe implications concerning the legitimacy of any such votes.”
Even with only four commissioners, Warren concluded that the commission “is still able to conduct the County business with the remaining members of the Board.”
Warren’s preliminary injunction preventing Austin-Stripling from taking office was a victory for the plaintiffs.
“We are very pleased for the judge to find that there was a violation of the state statute,” Holly Edwards, one of the plaintiffs, told The Cabarrus Compass.
Warren issued a temporary restraining order last week against Austin-Stripling, which prevented her from taking the oath of office and participating in Tuesday’s regular board meeting. The restraining order expires Friday.
A number of concerned citizens, who formed a group called Cabarrus Citizens for Government Integrity, filed a lawsuit shortly after the April 10 meeting, alleging that proper procedures were not followed in the selection of Austin-Stripling.
Measmer voted “present” during the meeting which counted as an affirmative vote for Austin-Stripling, while both Vice Chair Laura Blackwell Lindsey and Larry Pittman also voted for Austin-Stripling.
The complaint, which was first filed on April 14, alleged that “three BOC members acted in concert to blatantly and knowingly violate state law and the BOC’s own Rules of Procedure to ensure that a ‘predicted’ vacancy on the BOC would not be filled by a political opponent.”
The April 10 special meeting was also intentionally scheduled for 8:15 a.m., the complaint stated, as Commissioner Lynn Shue undergoes daily dialysis treatment in the mornings and could not make it. Commissioner Kenny Wortman also did not attend the meeting in solidarity with Shue.
If the appointment was brought to a revote and the four commissioners were deadlocked at 2-2, it would fall to Clerk of Court Bill Baggs to make the decision.
Wortman, in a brief phone interview with The Cabarrus Compass, said he hoped a revote would happen, though he was not holding his breath.
“I would want to see a revote done the right way and for all of us to agree on who it should be, but that’s not going to happen solely because the power of the board is at play,” Wortman said.