CABARRUS COUNTY, N.C. — Tensions flared at the Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners meeting tonight over the recent hiring of Sean Newton as the new county manager.
The controversy centers around the firing of former county manager Mike Downs and the appointment of Newton, who has a past business relationship with Chairman Chris Measmer.
Commissioner Kenny Wortman accused Measmer of a conflict of interest, alleging favoritism in the hiring process.
“The way this looks now is it’s horrific,” said Commissioner Kenny Wortman, directly accusing Chairman Chris Measmer of favoritism. “It looks like the headline is going to be the county fires a 63-year-old man with 38 years experience, replaces him with a person under 40 with none because he’s your friend and former partner.”
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Chairman Chris Measmer defended the hiring decision, stating that his past business relationship with Newton was brief and ended years ago.
“He has never given me a campaign contribution nor endorsed my candidacy in elections,” Measmer said. “He has never done business with the county, nor are we in business together currently, nothing illegal has been done.”
Commissioner Laura Blackwell Lindsay expressed her support for Newton, acknowledging her awareness of Measmer and Newton’s history but affirming Newton’s qualifications.
“Sean is qualified, he went through the application process just like everyone else did,” Lindsay stated.
During the meeting, Wortman made a motion to terminate Newton’s contract and hire a third party to conduct a national search for a new county manager, but the motion failed in a 3-to-2 vote.
After the meeting, Wortman urged Cabarrus County residents to get involved, expressing concern over the board’s decision.
“They should be concerned, and I hope they show up and get involved,” he said.
Despite the heated debate and failed motion to reconsider the hiring, Sean Newton is set to begin his role as county manager next Monday.
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