Though it likely went under the radar for most, Governor Cooper rescinded a controversial choice for the North Carolina Human Relations Commission this week. Lawana Mayfield is currently on the Charlotte City Council, and in December the Governor appointed her to the Commission, even with the flurry of controversies surrounding her.
First, and most recently, her statements on police officers as homegrown terrorists. Her rhetoric then was divisive and served no clear purpose nor invited dialogue. It was met with heavy criticism at the time, and covered widely. There is no reason that the Governor and his team would have been blindsided by this.
Worse yet, Mayfield peddled wild conspiracy theories regarding the tragedy of 9/11, openly questioning on her social media (the bane of many a politician) the events of that day. “I am still waiting for someone to produce pieces of the alleged plane that opened the doors for US Citizens to loose (sic) all privacy rights (from the conspiracy theorist in me).” Great. I don’t know how anyone who spouts something like that should be entrusted with a political appointment. It’s up to the voters of Charlotte to elect or replace Mayfield, but the Governor and his office should have had more sense than to appoint someone with such a long list of outlandish remarks.
Some others have cited this as a tack toward the center for Cooper as he enters a difficult reelection bid, but I disagree. It’s common sense. There is no constituency that he neglects by rescinding this flawed appointment; if it helps him politically, that’s just as well to me. Someone that would casually dismiss the suffering of an entire nation has not earned a position on any commission, let alone one appointed by the North Carolina Governor.
Kirk Kovach is a native North Carolinian interested in writing about politics, communication and culture.
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