9 Investigates: What are Huntersville leaders texting about in a group chat?

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — Huntersville elected leaders have been communicating in a group chat, and neither they nor the town will reveal what was being discussed.

A records request seeking the messages remains unfulfilled and the mayor and commissioners have all ignored requests for comment.

The Huntersville Town Board’s communication with each other hasn’t been limited to their time on the dais. Channel 9 learned there is a group chat that included, at one point, Mayor Christy Clark and the entire Board of Commissioners.

Channel 9’s Joe Bruno submitted a records request on September 18 for all of the messages dating back to the group chat’s creation. The request remains unfulfilled, and the town has not provided an estimated date for when the records will be produced.

Bruno offered to accept the request partially fulfilled if only some of the messages have been produced. Bruno also offered to accept a screen recording of the group thread. This would be faster to produce instead of individual screenshots. The town is aware of both offers but has not taken Bruno up on the offer.

Bruno tried to go straight to the sources, emailing the current Town Board and Mayor 3 times. He asked:

• Why did you all participate in this group chat?
• Did you discuss town business?
• Did you disparage any town staff or constituents?
• Did you discuss any confidential town business?
• In the interest of transparency, are you willing to schedule a meeting with me to view the messages?
• Are you willing to do an interview about the group chat?

No one answered any of the questions.

Clark responded to one email saying: “The town is in receipt of your records request. Records requests are completed as quickly as reasonably possible. The records requested will be made available to you upon fulfillment of the request.”

Clark did not respond to Bruno’s email pointing out he did not ask her for the status of the request. Bruno called her and left a message. Clark texted saying she would call back, but she never did.

Channel 9 obtained several of the messages. One was sent by Commissioner Edwin Quarles, and the message appears to be discussing town business.

Commissioner Quarles told Commissioner Alisia Bergsman he is quote “not homophobic” and his opinion on a proclamation “has nothing to do with how y’all are trying to portray me.”

A source familiar with the message says the proclamation in question was Mayor Christy Clark’s proclamation in honor of Pride Month. Emails obtained by Channel 9 show Quarles was responding to anti-Pride Month emails by saying he agrees with them.

Quarles did not respond to an email about this message.

Experts say there are two big concerns that make the group chat legally and ethically murky. They concern open meetings and public records.

Professor Rebecca Fisher-Gabbard with the UNC School of Government says the open meetings law is concerned with a majority of the members coming together for “simultaneous communication.”

Simultaneous communication is undefined in statute. A December 2024 Court of Appeals decision found that emails between a majority of the Village of Pinehurst’s board did not violate the state’s open meeting law because they were sent over a period of hours or days. But the UNC School of Government noted in a blog post that exchanges closer together might constitute simultaneous communication

In terms of public records generated by the text messages, Fisher-Gabbard says this depends on the content. If commissioners are talking about going to a birthday party or going to get drinks, this wouldn’t necessarily be a public record. If they are debating or discussing town business, the messages would be public record. Either way, there still may be a concern over whether an open meeting is occurring.

State law provides for a cause of action if someone thinks the open meetings law was broken. A lawsuit can be filed in Superior Court. The court could declare any actions taken as a result of the meeting as null and void and award attorney fees.

The Huntersville Board of Commissioners Code of Ethics says the Board “should comply with all applicable laws governing open meetings, contracting, and public records, recognizing that doing so is an important way to inspire and preserve the public’s trust.”

The code of ethics also says board members should remember “when they meet that they are conducting the public’s business” and “an environment of transparency and candor is to be maintained at all times.”

The code of ethics also prohibits an unjustified delay in fulfilling records requests.

Two years ago, Channel 9 investigated a group text between 7 Iredell-Statesville School Board members and the superintendent. The district released 123 pages of text messages that included topics ranging from the LGBT community to fights at Statesville High School. Some of the messages showed members were violating the state’s open meetings law. A lawsuit over the messages remains ongoing.

This is an ongoing story. Channel 9 will continue to press elected officials and seek the records request.

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