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New Hanover County Manager Chris Coudriet made no secret of his frustrations with the local elections office last month after it allegedly violated state law, holding back thousands of absentee ballots that state officials say should have been counted on Election Day.
Now, he’s hired the law firm Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP—for upward of $30,000—to investigate ways to improve the local office.
Coudriet said his concerns extended beyond the ballot issue and the contract with the firm will also investigate resource needs, practices and procedures, and “opportunities to improve communication—specifically with candidates and voters.” The latter was certainly part of the problem, as we’ve written about in The Dive before.
This week, Coudriet and county staff met with state elections officials, in a meeting they first requested in the throes of the absentee ballot snafu. According to an email sent by Coudriet to county commissioners and top county staff, those officials, including the state director and general counsel, agreed that retaining a third-party firm to review local operations was “a reasonable action to take,” with the caveat that it should “not be an audit of the election.”
The local board of elections, for its part, is declining to participate in the review, saying it’s unclear whether it’s within Coudriet’s authority.
Local elections director Rae Hunter-Havens told The Dive those same state officials had “clearly stated” to her that “an audit of the county board of elections by the county manager is beyond the scope of the county’s authority.”
She added, “It seems premature to say that the State Board agreed to this review, especially the scope of work detailed in the contract.”
Due to the considerable daylight between what Coudriet and local elections officials were hearing from the state, Hunter-Havens said they needed to review the issue further.
In a letter sent to Coudriet on Monday, Chairman Derrick Miler wrote that the elections board is “mindful of our independent authority … and take our oversight duties seriously. We cannot allow unauthorized others to take them out of our hands.”
Miller also wrote, “We wish we had been contacted,” before Coudriet had hired a firm. He added the board was tied up with the ongoing recount, but would consider the issue in January and remained open to discussing funding for the elections office.
Coudriet said the election board’s decision wouldn’t deter the review process.
“We have structured the scope of work to minimize reliance on their direct involvement but remain optimistic that the Board of Elections will recognize the value of this effort as it progresses and understand its intent to strengthen operations and resources moving forward,” Coudriet told The Dive.
The local board is one of several autonomous and semi-autonomous agencies, along with the Sheriff’s Office and Register of Deeds, that rely on county funding but don’t fall under the county’s jurisdiction.
It appears relatively uncommon for the county to engage a third party to review one of these agencies. Coudriet could not provide an example of it happening in recent history.
However, Coudriet did cite the county’s partnership with Cansler Collaborative Resources (now CCR Consulting) to review the consolidation plan for the Public Health and Social Services departments in 2019.
“That review, like this one, provided an impartial assessment and actionable recommendations for improvement,” Coudriet wrote. He added that while he could have utilized internal county resources for the review, “an independent third party offers maximum objectivity.”
The state elections office said they were “not asked for approval” of Coudriet’s plan, which could be beneficial–if it were “conducted cooperatively.” They noted the legal separation of the county and the elections board, and said staff “are hopeful the county manager approaches this engagement in the spirit of cooperation and with an appreciation for the legal authority of the county board of elections, and with a sensitivity to the fact that the county manager serves candidates for office, while the county boards operate independently of candidates.”
The scope of Parker Poe’s contract will include interviewing local board of election members and staff, reviewing documents, analyzing current policies and procedures in light of current laws and best practices, and a written recommendation for improvements—which Coudriet said would be transparent and shared with the public.
It appears the firm is set to move ahead with or without cooperation from elections officials, with two lead attorneys charging roughly $580 per hour, according to the contract, a “discount from [their] hourly rate.”
Read an extended version of this scoop on WHQR.
–Benjamin Schachtman
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There was never any doubt Charles Ray Peterson would be a Democrat. His parents, grandparents—everyone he knew in Bladen County, really—were Democrats.
Peterson, 70, served on the school board for 12 years and has been a commissioner for more than two decades. “When I got involved in politics,” he said, “you almost had to be a Democrat to win.”
Not anymore. Peterson changed his party affiliation to Republican in 2017, joining a growing number of people in rural North Carolina to eschew the Democratic Party. When he cast his ballot this year, he voted for a straight Republican ticket.
Bladen has been trending more conservative for years. Voters here picked Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. Then 54 percent backed Donald Trump in 2016, and 57 percent in 2020. Trump gained another 3 points this year, as Republicans swept all but one contested race in the county. Reporters Ben Rappaport and Sarah Nagem dig into the shift.
How Republicans Gained Ground in Rural North Carolina
Rural counties like the Border Belt shifted further to the right, despite Democrats’ efforts to re-engage working-class voters.
Around the Region
From 0 to 2: A developer has submitted a bid to purchase Wilmington’s former administrative offices on Chestnut Street and turn the property into a grocery store, Port City Daily reports. It marks the second grocery project planned in the downtown food desert.
It’s Nonstop: Low-cost carrier Avelo has announced three new nonstop flights out of Wilmington International Airport to Nashville, Boston and Rochester, Greater Wilmington Business Journal reports.
Safe Babies: New Hanover County is among five sites across the state piloting a new program, the Safe Babies Court, WHQR reports. The initiative is a less punitive and more education-based program to help reunite separated parents and their young children entangled in the child welfare court system.
Puny Munis: The controversial omnibus bill including Hurricane Helene relief funding also includes a rule that would strip downzoning power from municipalities, Port City Daily reports. Several leaders in Leland, who are considering limiting zoning in flood-prone areas, oppose the proposal.
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Democrats Oust Longtime Senate Leader
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The Never-Ending Supreme Court Race
The state Supreme Court race is now in its fourth week, with no sign of wrapping up in the near future.
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