The new director of the New Hanover County Board of Elections is on administrative leave after a breakdown in her relationship with both the county and board of elections.
The board has called a special meeting on Monday to discuss the matter; director DeNay Harris believes it will result in her termination. As allegations fly, the situation appears to have deteriorated.
“I'm sending you this thread as a level set around the conflict between the county administration and elections staff,” County Manager Chris Coudriet updated commissioners on the tensions in an email on March 15. “I'm doing this as I understand some view this as a conflict between DeNay and me. I view it between the offices.”
Harris came from a smaller region but wowed the New Hanover County Board of Elections in her interview and won their unanimous support as the new elections director. For the first several weeks, everything went fairly smoothly. However, on Primary Election Day, Harris sent an email to the local and state elections boards, accusing county staff of potentially violating state laws around secured election facilities.
That sparked an escalating series of emails between Harris and County Manager Chris Coudriet, ending with Coudriet telling Harris that he “would be the judge on what level of county resources, to include facilities, that we now choose to extend to you.”
Harris saw the issue as a continuation of past tension between the county and local board of elections, including a terse dust-up in 2023 over facilities access, a 2024 investigation into the elections board, paid for by the county after a vote-counting debacle, and the abrupt retirement of former elections director Rae Hunter-Havens in 2025, not long before the municipal elections.
Over the next two weeks, the situation devolved. Harris filed a complaint with HR, alleging she was being bullied and retaliated against, and not long after claimed her work email was being monitored, manipulated, and erased. She would later claim this was being done by the county in an effort to undermine her position.
Harris also made a series of allegations against county and elections leadership, generally rejected by the people involved as false or insubstantial. And, as the county’s IT attempted to access her laptop to perform a forensic review, Harris stopped coming into the office; ultimately, the county dispatched law enforcement to retrieve it.
However, the board and county have questioned Harris’ job performance.
A bigger question arising from the debacle remains: How much did the county’s incursion into the board of elections hinder Harris and, more broadly, contribute to the potential leadership vacuum the NHCBOE could now face?
Jan. 13 – BOE unanimously approves the hire of Harris
After several months of temporary county leadership helping run the elections office, DeNay Harris was unanimously hired by the New Hanover County Board of Elections, including Chair Jamie Getty, Secretary John Lyon, and Beverly Setz, all Republicans, and Derrick R. Miller and James Battle Morgan, Jr., both Democrats, on Jan. 13.
While Harris answers to NHCBOE, and not the county, Lisa Wurtzbacher, assistant county manager, and Crystal Whittaker, executive aide to the county manager at New Hanover County, took part in the hiring process, having served as special assistant and interim director for the elections office after the retirement of Hunter-Havens.
While Harris came from a region with a much smaller population — Charles City County in Virginia, with less than 6,000 voters — she reportedly performed very well in her interview and allayed concerns the board may have had.
Chair Getty told Port City Daily upon her hiring that Harris had “strong operational knowledge and leadership skills” that appealed to the board.
On Feb. 3, Harris started working with the county BOE. Over the first two weeks, she said the workflow was relatively smooth, considering the learning curve of a new set of state election laws, which the county said a state liaison and NHCBOE’s could help her with. Staff and an NHCBOE member confirmed operations were relatively copacetic during this time.
Harris told the media outlets in retrospect, she had questions.
“They didn’t tell me the team was new,” Harris said, referring to the recent staff turnover in the office, where four of seven employees had been on the job less than a year.
Harris was initially expected to pick her own new deputy director, but the process has not moved along. According to county emails, the deputy director position was initially posted with a request that applications were due by March 10 for “priority consideration.” That’s since been removed and the position is now advertised simply as “open until filled.”
Harris also expressed frustration, claiming she was discouraged by the county and NHCBOE from speaking directly to Hunter-Havens, her predecessor; Harris believed Hunter-Havens was “forced to retire.” Officially, Hunter-Havens resigned due to medical issues and transitioned from full-time director to a contract-based consulting role, after leaving the office.
“They didn’t tell me anything about them having forced Rae to retire. What they said was, ‘she's retiring because she had a lot of health issues,’” Harris said. “So why can't I call her? If you guys are paying her $70,000 as a consultant, why can't I call my predecessor?”
Getty said the county elections board never directed Harris not to speak with Hunter-Havens.
Wurtzbacher told WHQR and Port City Daily: “Staff were told that if they had a question, they should first contact their state liaison or BOE attorney, and if their question could not be answered through those channels, I would set up a time for us to go over their questions with Rae [Hunter-Havens].”
The board of elections has experienced several position turnovers in the last few years, most notably Hunter-Havens, the director preceding Harris, who abruptly resigned Oct. 7, 2025.
A week prior, deputy director Caroline Dawkins departed the BOE. Absentee coordinator Beth Pugh left earlier in August 2025. Then shortly into the new year, Dawkins’ interim replacement, Jessica O’Neill, exited, leaving behind a largely new team, some of whom were moved to the BOE from other county departments in last year’s budget cuts.
That’s the office Harris stepped into. Also dealing with a largely hands-off board, Harris’ transition was led by Wurtzbacher and Whittaker.
“No one's taught me anything,” Harris told Port City Daily. “Crystal and Lisa didn't know what they were doing, had no experience building an election.”
Whittaker and Wurtzbacher successfully ran the 2025 municipal election, but it’s not clear how hands-on they were with the granular details of election management. They also did not have access to some secured parts of the process, like SEIMS, the state’s election software.
The county and the elections office are supposed to be independent. But with Wurtzbacher as both assistant county manager and working within the elections office, it blurred the lines between the two entities for some.
After Hunter-Havens left, the local board of elections took up the issue of Wurtzbacher serving as special assistant to the NHCBOE. Board member Derrick Miller said he objected to this establishment due to conflict-of-interest concerns; though the board of elections receives funding from the county, local boards are intended to be independent operations and accountable to the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
Still, Miller told WHQR and PCD the board was advised Wurtzbacher’s double duty was “not a problem,” though the board member still was the lone dissenter in her appointment. Miller acknowledged he felt Wurtzbacher did “a good job.”
Later, when the board named Whittaker as interim director, Miller voted in favor, saying his past concerns had “been allayed by Lisa’s performance.” He said he felt Whittaker’s role was acceptable as a short-term solution before NHCBOE found a new full-time replacement.
Port City Daily asked the State Board of Elections whether the appointment of Wurtzbacher, or later Whittaker — both direct reports to County Manager Coudriet — constituted a conflict of interest. Spokesperson Jason Tyson said the state board would not comment.
According to sources close to the matter, the agreement was that Wurtzbacher would handle administrative tasks and leave election handling to NHCBOE staff, particularly Jessica O’Neill, elevated to interim deputy director by Hunter-Havens after Dawkins left in September 2025.
Sources say the agreement didn’t hold, with Wurtzbacher visiting voting sites and increasingly involving herself in election matters. Additionally, Chair Getty says she was given “all the authorities of an election director” aside from those restricted by law.
Later during municipal Election Day, a source alleged that Wurtzbacher wanted to livestream the voter machine tabulation results as they came, though staff advised this was against the law. It took a conversation with the machine operator and the state’s legal counsel to convince her not to do this, a source alleged.
The county told Port City Daily it is “not aware of any plan to livestream machine tabulation.”
A source said Whittaker began coming around the NHCBOE more and more with Wurtzbacher; in December, the board would unanimously approve her as interim director, with all the authorities as a director, despite lacking elections training.
The State Board of Elections confirmed directors — which are voted on by local boards before approval from the state — are required to undergo annual training.
The county told WHQR and Port City Daily resources were provided to Whittaker and Wurtzbacher through the State Board of Elections, including a regional election field specialist, access to the State Board Help Desk, legal guidance from BOE counsel and the state board’s general counsel, and support from an experienced board of elections chair from another county.
The county is keeping Hunter-Havens on as a consultant through April 1, 2026. However, Wurtzbacher confirmed any staff, including Harris, who had questions should go to their state liaison or BOE attorney first. Wurtzbacher said she would then set up a time to go over questions with Hunter-Havens.
Port City Daily and WHQR asked the board if O’Neill, as the most senior member of the NHCBOE at the time, was considered for the interim director position and why Whittaker was deemed a better candidate. Miller didn’t answer and Getty — on behalf of the entire board — said the decision is a personnel matter and “completely confidential.”
Sources close to the matter say O’Neill wasn’t a part of the final round of candidate interviews for the director position that Harris ended up being hired for either. She resigned her position on Jan. 30 and is now the director at the Onslow Board of Elections.
Feb. 16 - 25 – Badge access dust-up
As reported by Port City Daily earlier this month, Harris requested in a Feb. 24 email to IT that Whittaker and Wurtzbacher’s badge access to elections facilities be “revoked,” a term that apparently sat poorly with some county staff. Getty told Port City Daily they hadn't been “revoked” as much as expired when Harris stepped into her new role.
However, according to records, the badge access wasn’t changed for more than three weeks after Harris officially started work. Notably, email records indicate Harris was out of the office for several days in the first couple of weeks of work to attend to personal issues related to her move from Virginia; Whittaker continued some of her interim director duties, which may have somewhat muddied the waters of Harris’ transition.. Whittaker was formally relieved of her interim duties on or about Feb. 24, according to county email records.
Wurtzbacher also requested weekly meetings, from Feb. 17 to March 17, emails show — which Harris later described as part of the county “micromanaging” her position.
The badge access issue took place at the beginning of early voting and, while there did seem to be some tension, Harris said, the next two weeks were largely occupied by elections business.
This isn’t the first time the county and New Hanover County clashed over badge access to election spaces.
As previously reported by Port City Daily, emails between former board chair Oliver Carter and county staff in March 2023 show Carter insisting county officials — even County Manager Chris Coudriet — be prevented from having “unfettered access” to board of elections spaces due to election security concerns. Carter asked that county employees schedule their visits in advance.
Carter describes the inciting incident, saying Coudriet and Mark Francolini, head of HR, wanted to bypass the board’s security checkpoint at the Northeast Library “unimpeded and immediately,” and they wanted to survey the inside of the Board’s offices without Rae following them.
Hunter-Havens purportedly asked Coudriet and Francolini to wait while she walked through the back offices to make sure no confidential materials or equipment were unsupervised; though Coudriet defied this request, according to Carter. Carter says Coudriet verbally insulted Hunter-Havens within earshot of multiple employees, telling her that she “needs to remember who [he is]”, that she is “getting on his last nerve”, and that she “needs to back off.”
Coudriet responded to this email stating he as county manager was responsible for the custodial care of county facilities. Coudriet suggested his access to the facility was necessary to evaluate “next-phase use” of the facility after the NHCBOE moves to its new building.
“No one on our team, me included, will be made or framed as an interloper in space for which we are accountable, responsible, and own,” Coudriet said, noting the Northeast Library is not a department facility but rather a county facility where the BOE happens to be assigned to work “for now.”
He also claims Carter shouldn’t speak to the situation because Carter wasn’t there; however, Port City Daily learned from someone who was there, who agreed to describe the incident on the condition of anonymity, that Coudriet and Francolini did push through the security checkpoint to enter the BOE’s back hallway and Coudriet told Hunter-Havens that she was “starting to piss him off.”
Port City Daily asked Coudriet if he wanted to comment on the situation further; a county spokesperson said employees were attending a regularly scheduled county staff meeting in the building and “encountered access restrictions to common areas, including restrooms.”
Miller told Port City Daily and WHQR he was “forced to scout possible alternative rental properties” with Carter as a result of the email until Coudriet “withdrew the threat.”
Several sources familiar with the incident told Port City Daily and WHQR that this created a strained relationship between the county and Hunter-Havens.
More evidence of the fallout, a source said, was the county beginning to reject the NHCBOE’s budget requests; for example, the NHCBOE asked for the elections management software Integra in the last two budget cycles.
Integra would later be requested during Whittaker’s time as interim director and approved outside of the budget process and ahead of the primary election.
According to an email from Wurtzbacher, the use of Integra represented a first phase, which was “undertaken to achieve a reduction in payroll processing time and errors and reducing reliance on manual paper-based workflows.” She said there is no timeline for future phases.
During budget discussions in the spring of 2025, Hunter-Havens was coming off an audit investigation initiated by the county over a ballot counting discrepancy and a challenge from Commissioner Dane Scalise over the issue. At a meeting in June 2025, Hunter-Havens said early-voting access and election integrity would be jeopardized under the county’s proposed budget cuts.
March 3 - Harris sends email to local, state elections boards
After Harris addressed last month’s badge issue, the next escalation came on Primary Election Day, March 3.
According to email records, Harris emailed the NHCBOE and blind copied at least one person at the state board of elections (NCSBE), an unidentified personal email, and local elections staff.
Harris wrote to “formally address ongoing concerns regarding unauthorized access to
ballots, voting equipment, tabulation devices, and state election systems within our office.”
She specifically accused Wurtzbacher of entering secured areas behind authorized staff and also implied Wurtzbacher’s mother was in the building inappropriately or illegally.
Wurtzbacher confirmed that during the 2025 election she’d entered the Northeast Library voting site, but said she’d been appropriately escorted by staff from both the state and local elections board, and nothing unauthorized happened. NCSBE confirmed to Port City Daily it was allowable.
In general, a county spokesperson said during the period of Whittaker and Wurtzbacher's service, officails were not aware of any violation of elections law.
County Manager Coudriet would later clarify that Wurtzbacher’s mother is a chief judge at a polling site who was retrieving elections materials. In an email to commissioners, a frustrated Coudriet wrote: “If you’re going to make allegations, at least get the fact patter[n] correct.”
Harris suggested county staff had questioned her own elections staff and asked about her whereabouts. According to several people familiar with the situation who spoke to WHQR on condition of anonymity, Harris did not arrive at the main elections office until later in the day on Primary Election Day. Harris rejected the notion.
“On the way in, I stopped at different precincts,” she told WHQR, accounting otherwise for the majority of her day being spent at the office.
“This is not a minor procedural issue. It is a violation of election security protocols designed to protect voters and this Board,” Harris wrote to NHCBOE and the state, citing statutes she felt were at risk of being violated.
Harris requested clarification from NHCBOE of her sole authority over the elections office and an end to what she again called "micromanagement." She also asked for “reaffirmation” that Whittaker and Wurtzbacher not be allowed access to secure areas or “provide operational direction.”
Harris concluded: “I cannot and will not continue to operate in conditions where statutory authority is disregarded and election security protocols are undermined. My responsibility is to uphold North Carolina election law and protect the voters of this county. I intend to do exactly that.”
March 4 – Coudriet and Harris’ email escalation
According to emails provided by the county, Harris’ complaint made its way to NCSBE general counsel Tim Hoegemeyer, who called county attorney K. Jordan Smith and provided a copy of the complaint to the county.
Coudriet wrote to Harris around 4:40 p.m. on March 4, responding to a courtesy update, that the primary election had gone smoothly. He told her he’d seen the complaint and “took special notice of the suggestion that you’re being micromanaged by senior county staff,” arguing the county viewed its role as a “value-added” support and not “an attempt to undermine responsibility or authority.”
Coudriet, who CC’d Whitaker and Getty, said a “meeting for us is likely in order” and suggested Getty attend. He wrote the county fully respected the independence of elections and concluded, “It’s difficult for elections to operate effectively and well without general support from the county (HR, IT, facilities management, etc.) but I read it to mean our new director can go it alone.”
He told Harris she could work with Whittaker to “find a meeting time.”
About 20 minutes later, Harris responded to Coudriet that the facility access issue was resolved and added, “to be clear I cannot effectively perform my duties without county resources” and said they “can and should continue to be provided during regular business hours when authorized elections personnel are present.”
Coudriet responded about 15 minutes later, more bluntly this time.
“DeNay, I read a lot of words here and they paint a clear picture, but ultimately, I’ll be the judge on what level of county resources, to include facilities, that we now choose to extend to you. Collaboration and support is not defined by your preferences but instead by the agreement your board and I reach,” he wrote.
“Oh ok. Thanks,” Harris responded.
Harris later told WHQR: “He threatened my resources [...] I can't believe this guy said he's gonna take my resources — and in writing. I have never seen anything like this.”
Coudriet defended his statements in an email to commissioners on Monday, March 16, and later reiterated the same rationale to WHQR and Port City Daily.
Asked if he felt his statement about being the “judge” was appropriate, he responded:
“Yes. In light of the complaint she made and her response to my first engagement on the topic, I believe it both appropriate and responsible. The county commission hires a county manager with one of many purposes being to manage and allocate resources appropriated by the board on behalf of the county.”
Coudriet said it was important context that he would “negotiate resource use with the board of elections rather than the director. If there is concern about facility access, for instance, we'll limit custodial care or IT support until the Board of Elections directs otherwise.”
Elections board Chair Getty also was asked her thoughts about the county manager’s statement.
“We are confident that everyone in New Hanover’s administration understands their obligation to provide the necessary resources to carry out full and fair elections,” she said. “I did not interpret this statement as any type of threat.”
NHCBOE member Derrick Miller had a different take.
“I was troubled by this statement, especially because it reminded me of when he threatened to withhold the new elections board building from us a few years ago. I was forced to scout possible alternative rental properties with the former director, until he withdrew the threat. I also thought it seemed to usurp the authority of the county commissioners and seemed dismissive of the county’s legal obligation to support the board of elections,” Miller wrote in an email to the media outlets.
County commissioners did not respond to questions about Coudriet’s email to Harris.
March 6 – "Status quo"
Two days later, Getty and NHCBOE secretary John Lyon met with Coudriet. Harris was invited but chose not to attend. Harris told Port City Daily she decided against it as an attempt to de-escalate the tension between her and Coudriet and said she trusted the board to back her.
“Me only knowing them for 30 days, I thought they would go to bat for elections,” Harris said, noting she did request Miller to attend also to balance out the partisan attendance. Notably, the board shifted to Republican majority last year when the power to appoint chair positions was moved from the Governor to the State Auditor.
According to Coudriet, Getty and Lyon asked for the county’s continued support. Coudriet said he told them all communication from him would go through Getty and Lyon, and the county would act “based on their direction or a simple majority of the [elections] board.”
In a follow-up email, Getty thanked Coudriet and wrote they met with Harris and explained the new arrangement.
“We respectfully request that you disregard Ms. Harris’s email. We wish to maintain the status quo that existed prior to February 2, 2026, which included full services provided by NHC,“ Getty wrote.
“We have a dedicated staff that worked extremely hard during the municipal and primary elections. We do not want Ms. Harris’s decision to negatively impact the rest of the NHCBOE staff,” she added, reiterating that county support was “critical” to running successful elections.
According to Harris, Getty and Lyons “cornered” her after meeting with Coudriet, expressed their frustration and asked if she was perhaps out of her depth. Harris maintained her only concern was abiding by state statutes.
Less than a week later, it would be clear Getty’s attempts to smooth things over had not been successful.
March 11 – HR complaint
On the afternoon of Wednesday, March 13, Harris asked in an email to senior HR analyst Tracy Dawson for “guidance and support.”
“Over the past several days, I have begun to feel increasingly uncomfortable with the environment surrounding my role, and I am concerned that I may be experiencing workplace bullying and possible retaliation. I want to handle this matter appropriately and through the proper channels, but I am uncertain who I can safely report these concerns to,” Harris wrote.
Harris briefly referenced the back-and-forth with Coudriet and said, because of the “close personal relationships” shared by people involved, she was unsure if raising concerns “through the usual channels” would “could create additional challenges for me professionally.”
Harris, stating she was “extremely uncomfortable,” expressed worry her position would be undermined. She asked if there was an independent or external reporting process and if there were protections for her against retaliation.
Harris said she never got a reply. According to county emails, Harris’ HR complaint is confidential.
Friday, March 13 – Email and tech access concerns
On the afternoon of Friday, March 13, Harris sent an email to Sunny Hwang, the county’s chief information officer and head of IT, with the subject line “election interference.”
“My emails are being deleted without being sent. My emails are also being diverted to drafts and not sent. I am also noticing emails being opened and deleted. I have 191 emails deleted just today alone. My internal IT has noticed this as well. This is illegal and I am requesting assistance on this immediately,” Harris wrote.
Harris said she “identified at least one email sent to a member of the press from my official account that I did not authorize or not authorize or not authorize or compose.” She asked for several relevant policies and confirmation her email account was not being surveilled or used without her authorization.
While Harris wrote the situation involved illegal activity, she also wrote: “to be clear I am not asserting wrongdoing at this time.”
Hwang wrote back that Harris’ computer and email account were not being monitored and issues she reported were “highly unusual and contrary to the known behavior of our systems.” However, he wanted to review her evidence.
Later Friday afternoon, Coudriet informed county commissioners, “we appear to have a building conflict with the county’s board of elections director,” noting Harris’ emails suggested someone might be accessing and manipulating her email account.
Courdiet signed off: “Oddly, Chris.”
As part of a subsequent back-and-forth into Saturday, March 14, Hwang noted a cybersecurity team from the National Guard had visited the government center that week. He said they conducted a comprehensive review of the county’s IT system and observed nothing abnormal.
Hwang asked to set up a meeting first thing Monday morning, but Harris didn’t respond.
Saturday afternoon Coudriet contacted commissioners again, including emails between Harris and Hwang.
“Commissioners, communication and maybe even accusations continue,” he wrote. “The narrative here becomes more and more complicated and largely unbelievable. “
On Monday, IT staff arrived at Harris’ office, but she wasn’t there.
Harris said she already planned to be out of town on that day.
“If I didn’t accept the meeting, there’s no meeting,” she told WHQR, adding she informed her staff she’d be out but believed she was under no obligation to let NHCBOE or the county know.
According to email records, both county and local Board of Elections members were surprised Harris was out of the office. Getty requested information on how many days Harris had been absent since being hired.
Harris told WHQR and Port City Daily she explicitly believed the county was deleting and otherwise manipulating her emails to put her at a disadvantage. Specifically, there was a question of a post-election audit emailed by the state to NHCBOE, including the name of someone who had died after casting an early-voting ballot. For reasons unclear, the email was missed; Harris told WHQR she thought they were deliberately removed as a setup to possibly be used as pretext for the board to fire her. Getty said NHCBOE was looking into the issue, which was of “great concern.”
Harris claimed she was not responsible for the ballot, or other potential missteps, because she said she had not signed a resolution transferring authority from the NHCBOE chair to her. Getty said that while NHCBOE is working to approve an updated resolution outlining the election directors’ role, that was not a substantial issue. She noted that Harris is currently subject to at least two previous resolutions outlining various rules and duties, as well as state statute.
Separately, Harris said she also had issues accessing the invoice management system for her department. Again, she suggested the error was not a glitch but a malicious manipulation, designed to make it look like she was failing to keep up with her managerial duties.
Asked about potential issues with Harris’ invoice system, the county said she “was not going through the correct process.” The county said the issue was resolved, but insisted “at all times, Ms. Harris had the system access necessary to approve invoices.”
Monday, March 16 – The situation devolves further
Harris said the county reacted poorly to her being off on Monday, March 16, and then taking medical leave the following day.
According to Harris, and documents reviewed by WHQR and Port City Daily, the county asked for a doctor’s note and requested she report her time to Wurtzbacher. Harris considered both moves retaliatory.
The county declined to comment on the doctor’s note, saying it fell under personnel rules, although the documents suggest it is standard county practice after someone has a “medical emergency,” so that management can determine how long an employee might be out, what kind of work they’ll be able to do, etc. Though elections directors are not direct reports to county leadership, the county confirmedHarris is required to report her time “as is the process for all county-funded department heads,” and Wurtzbacher approves the timesheets for the elections director position.
On Monday night, Harris sent an email with an attachment, both promising a summary of Harris’ concerns and context to the sequence of events. Though noted that the attachment would provide a “detailed and chronological account,” it does not include any times or dates, but instead shows spare details.
The subject line was “assistance,” but the email contained many allegations. According to email records, Harris left Getty and Lyon off the original message.
Harris did note the email and invoice issues “created operational confusion and administrative barriers.” But she dedicated more time to “relationships and influences.”
In some cases, the claims are self-evident but insubstantial; for example the claim of “longstanding relationships” between Coudriet, the county’s HR director, and others, who have worked together for many years. Others were apparently inaccurate, like Getty and Whittaker having a longstanding relationship; Getty said the two only met in the fall of 2025 when Whittaker became interim director.
Harris also made inaccurate claims about Getty and Dallas Woodhouse, the former North Carolina Republican Party chair who was controversially appointed to oversee county elections boards by Republican State Auditor Dave Boliek last year. Harris claimed Getty had a friendship with Woodhouse and that her phone records with him had been subpoenaed. Harris didn’t say what the relevance of these statements were.
In a response, Getty said that she only knew Woodhouse in her capacity as NHCBOE chair, adding their only interactions had been in their professional roles. According to records reviewed by WHQR, Getty did not receive a subpoena — that is, a legal request through the courts — but instead was part of a broad public records request submitted by American Oversight, a D.C.-based nonprofit. The request was for all the NHCBOE members and was likely filed in other counties, as well.
Harris further implied Getty had a romantic relationship with a campaign manager of a board of commissioners member, which Getty categorically rejected. And Harris suggested Lyons “regularly played golf” with Coudriet. While Harris did not say what the import of that would be, Lyons denied the claim, calling it an “outright lie” and saying he would not be “bullied” by Harris.
Harris closed by calling for a third-party forensic review of the email issue — which the county confirmed is now underway — and writing “several issues may warrant review by legal counsel or oversight authorities. These include potential interference with election administration, retaliation following compliance concerns, and the handling of government communications or records.” Harris did not provide details.
The day after Harris emailed her allegations, NHCBOE posted a notice for a special meeting on Monday, March 23, to conduct “personnel matters.”
Thursday, March 19 – ‘They’re going to fire me’
On Thursday morning, Harris called WHQR and Port City Daily to say she had been placed on administrative leave and would no longer be able to communicate with the press. She said believed the elections board was moving to terminate her.
She said she had not returned to the office since the previous Friday, the day of the county canvass. Midday Thursday, March 19, deputies from the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office visited Harris’ residence to take her laptop, which was delivered to the county for forensic review.
Earlier this month, officials at the county and NHCBOE were celebrating the smooth operation of the primary election and commending Harris. Just over two weeks later, all that changed. Harris believes the failure to bring up the deceased person’s ballot, among other items, would be used against her.
NHCBOE declined to discuss anything related to personnel, including whether they would or could bring Whittaker or Wurtzbacher to help run the elections office if Harris resigned or was let go.
Despite the mounting tension over the last few weeks, and possibility that NHCBOE could soon, again, be without a director, Getty remained upbeat about the relationship with the county.
“The Board of Elections relationship with the County has greatly improved since I was appointed Chair. The County has been a tremendous resource and support for the Board of Elections. We have worked well with New Hanover County to ensure fair and transparent elections in New Hanover County. I do not perceive the relationship as having been impacted in the last few weeks and we continue to collaborate with New Hanover County,” she wrote in an email.
Should the outcome of the board of elections’ Monday meeting not be in Harris’ favor, it is unclear who will be in charge of day-to-day operations and decision-making at the NHCBOE.
Port City Daily and WHQR asked the board if it would consider bringing back Wurtzbacher and Whittaker.
“I think given the current situation that that seems unlikely, but I don’t know,” Miller said. “The board has not discussed that question yet, so I am only giving my personal best guess right now.”
Getty said the question related to personnel and cannot be answered.
