Kelly Kenoyer: So, Ben, over the weekend, news broke that the New Hanover County Democratic Party is making some strong allegations against one of their own.
Ben Schachtman: Right, so we were one of several news outlets that got a leaked copy of a complaint, filed by Chairwoman Jill Hopman and other top party officials, against David Andrews — he’s a former Pender County manager who also served as Boiling Spring Lakes town manager. He’s currently a precinct chair here in Wilmington — and he’s the husband of city councilwoman Salette Andrews.
KK: And in this complaint, which was filed with the state Democratic Party, David Andrews is being accused of, and I’m quoting from Hopman’s complaint, “a clear pattern of public intoxication, sexual harassment, and unwanted touching.” Does the complaint back up these claims?
BS: There are several incidents in the complaint, which we’ll have online — we’re not going to go through every detail here, but I think the most serious claim is probably that Andrews drunkenly slapped a woman named Jennie Wells Thomason on the backside. She’s currently running for clerk of courts, and was at a fundraiser — according to the complaint, she was deeply upset by this, but didn’t want to go public with it, but ultimately decided she should, which is why I think she signed her name to this complaint.
KK: And were there other people who signed this complaint as well?
BS: Yes. Leigh Johnson, a community leader and philanthropy director for the regional Planned Parenthood, said Andrews inappropriately hugged her and otherwise acted in a way that made her very uncomfortable. Another signature was from Superior Court Judge Ricardo Jensen, who allegedly tried to speak with Andrews about some of the claims — the conversation apparently went badly. Jensen said Andrews denied any misconduct and threatened legal action.
KK: And Hopman herself makes allegations against Andrews.
BS: Yes, she claimed he verbally accosted her, jabbing his finger in her chest. The local party’s first vice chair, Rachel Hatfield, signed off as a witness to this.
I’ll note there’s also some unsigned accounts, including a female former candidate who asked to stay anonymous, and city councilman David Joyner, who was allegedly berated with profanity by Andrews — according to the complaint, Joyner recused himself from the process because he serves with Salette Andrews on council.
KK: You reached out to David Andrews, what did he say?
BS: First, we should say he strongly disputes all the claims against him, and said these serious allegations should, “be evaluated through a fair and impartial process based on the evidence.” He noted that he and Salette had concerns about the “lack of due process,” objecting to the way this complaint has been broadly disseminated — which I think was a reference to copies of the complaint going to the county party’s executive committee, which has over a hundred members. He said that could affect the fairness and integrity of the proceedings.
KK: A bit of a side note, but did that dissemination also make it more likely for the press to get it?
BS: I suspect so, yeah.
KK: On top of all this, you also confirmed with Andrews that he had filed his own complaints.
BS: Yes, we’d heard that Andrews had also filed a complaint against Hopman, before she filed hers — he alleged that she’d unfairly put her finger on the scale, so to speak, while Salette was running in the primary for county commissioner. Hopman told me that she did not endorse anyone in the primary, and even if she had, that would not have been prohibited by the party’s policies.
We’d also heard that he’d filed a complaint against Judge Jenson to the North Carolina Judicial Standards Commission.
Andrews confirmed “earlier filings had been made through appropriate channels, including the party and with relevant authorities,” but declined to say anything else about his or Hopman’s complaints.
KK: Can we independently verify that?
BS: Well, the standards commission is completely confidential unless it takes action against a judge, so probably not. As for the complaint to the state party, we reached out to ask, but it is an internal party issue, not a civil or criminal case — so we don’t have the same level of transparency.
KK: Ok, so, Andrews filed complaints, Hopman filed hers — what’s next?
BS: I believe the state party is going to provide some next steps early next week. Hopman is asking for Andrews to be removed as precinct chair and banned from future County Democratic party events, And it’s not clear what relief Andrews is seeking against Hopman — but I suspect we’ll be able to report out what happens, whatever that might be.
KK: Alright Ben, thanks for your reporting on this.
BS: Sure thing, Kelly.
Below: The New Hanover County Democratic Party's grievance against David Andrews.
