Mooresville mayor determined to stay in office after ‘no confidence’ vote

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Hours after a vote of no confidence by the town of Mooresville’s board of commissioners, Mayor Chris Carney says he’s determined to stay in office.

Carney has been under scrutiny since lawsuits were filed by former employees alleging that they were improperly terminated for reporting an incident involving Carney inside the Mooresville Town Hall. The former employees say there’s a video of Carney undressed in the town hall with a woman who was contracted by the town to do communications work.

Late Monday, the town’s commissioners held a meeting and issued a vote of no confidence in Carney, urging him to resign.

On Tuesday, Channel 9’s Erika Jackson spoke with Carney and asked him if he plans to resign.

Carney says he plans to stay in his role for the next 19 months.

“I practiced poor judgment, as I’ve said, and I feel terrible for that,” Carney said.

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Commissioner Dana Tucker introduced the resolution against the mayor after he said he received complaints from residents. He said the mayor’s actions violated the town’s code of ethics, and that the board had a responsibility to act.

Carney claims that he wasn’t wearing pants in the town hall because he had gotten sick on them. The lawsuits against the town are still pending, but one of them claims that evidence refutes Carney’s statement.

Jackson asked UNC Charlotte Political Science Professor Dr. Eric Heberlig about the implications of the no-confidence vote and whether or not Carney can be forced to resign.

“Probably not, in terms of legal meganisms that the city council can do to remove him,” Heberlig said.

The professor says the commissioners’ vote doesn’t have any legal standing.

“It’s a clear signal from the city council that if they did have the power to remove the mayor, they would do it,” Heberlig said.

Carney plans to stay in his seat even amid the pending lawsuits. He says the citizens of Mooresville remain his top priority.

“I’ve said a million times I am so sorry, and I wish I could do something to change that, but I’ve worked really hard on behalf of the citizens,” Carney said.

The town commissioners told us they still haven’t seen the video from inside the town hall, but they want access to it.

Carney told Jackson he entered this term knowing it would be his last. He says he has no plans to run again in 2027.

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