Cabarrus commissioners tried to fill NC senator’s vacancy before it existed, judge rules
Newly appointed Cabarrus County Commissioner Lamarie Austin-Stripling won’t be allowed to be sworn into office while a lawsuit is ongoing about her being named to the seat before it was properly vacated, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Superior Court Judge Steve Warren granted a preliminary injunction in a case filed by a group of several county residents called Cabarrus Citizens for Government Integrity while the litigation pends on Wednesday afternoon. The decision comes after three commissioners suspended rules earlier this month to swiftly appoint Austin-Stripling to the seat previously held by Republican North Carolina Sen. Chris Measmer.
Measmer had not yet resigned at the time of the appointment, which meant there was no vacancy to be filled, the judge wrote in his order.
“Without a preliminary injunction, there is a likelihood of immediate and irreparable harm,” Warren wrote.
Warren issued a temporary restraining order against Austin-Stripling last week, preventing her from attending two board meetings and taking the oath of office. The restraining order expires Friday.
County Attorney Daniel Peterson, minutes before the preliminary injunction was filed, declined to comment on the pending litigation. Peterson said he had not seen the order when The Charlotte Observer asked for comment on the new decision.
In a court filing submitted by Peterson, he argued Austin-Stripling should be allowed to take office.
“Even if then-Chairman Measmer could not vote on the appointment motion, he abstained from the vote, meaning that the remaining members of the Board validly passed the motion,” he wrote. “In any event, the vacancy was occurring — the Governor had appointed Chairman Measmer to the North Carolina Senate and all he needed to do was take the oath of office to be seated.”
Cabarrus County commissioners appointment
The appointment process was contentious before the lawsuit.
Commissioner Lynn Shue, who was absent from the April 10 meeting, said the meeting was intentionally set by Measmer and other commissioners at a time when he could not attend given his routine dialysis treatment. At the meeting, Measmer voted “present” which counted as an affirmative vote for Austin-Stripling along with Commissioners Laura Lindsey and Larry Pittman who voted yes.
The meeting was set less than 72 hours after Measmer announced he would leave the board, which some argued left little time for applications to be submitted and candidates to make their case. At the April 10 meeting the three present commissioners voted to suspend the county’s adopted procedures for a ranked-choice voting system. In doing so, the commissioners also voided a portion of the rule that requires applications for seats to be submitted days in advance.
Cabarrus County GOP Vice Chair Jim Quick on Tuesday evening defended the appointment despite the ongoing lawsuit. He cited Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a Dream Speech,” and urged people to look beyond political divides during this process.
Commissioner Kenny Wortman, who was absent from the meeting where Austin-Stripling was appointed, said he would like the commission to call for a another vote on the appointment now that Measmer has vacated the seat.
“If they were going to do the right thing to truly save taxpayer money, they would go ahead now that Chris has gone and redo the vote,” he said in a phone call with the Charlotte Observer. “That would make the lawsuit null and void at that point, because you’ve done the right thing. But they’re not worried about doing what’s right. They’re worried about power.”
This story was originally published April 23, 2025 at 5:50 PM with the headline "Cabarrus commissioners tried to fill NC senator’s vacancy before it existed, judge rules."
