PENDER COUNTY — The ongoing dispute between the Pender-Topsail Post & Voice and Pender County has escalated, with the local newspaper issuing a lawsuit against the county and several commissioners.
READ MORE: Some Pender commissioners critical over Pender Post cartoon, pull business from pub
ALSO: Pender commissioner accused of campaign finance violations over ad buy in newspaper
Filed on Tuesday, July 1, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, the lawsuit names Pender County and Commissioners Randy Burton, Brent Springer and Jerry Groves as defendants. Andy Pettigrew, publisher and a plaintiff in the suit, maintains the county’s move to strip all legal notices, government news and other advertising from The Pender Post constitutes a violation to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the North Carolina Constitution and state statutes regulating legal advertisement publication.
The commissioners voted 3-2 in April — with Brad George and Jimmy Tate dissenting — to switch to Wilmington’s StarNews for its advertising needs. The decision ended a long-standing relationship with the Pender Post, patronized by the county for 15 years to advertise foreclosures, budget hearings, zoning changes, and bids for contracts.
The change in papers was prompted by a cartoon that ran in Pender Post, asserting a former school board member was a puppet master, controlling county commissioners’ decision-making. Some of the public spoke out at the April 22 commissioners meeting when they voted to move their business to StarNews, calling it retaliatory; Pender Post owner Pettigrew agrees.
“We didn’t want to have to go through all this and all it’s going to cost us,” he said. “But what are we supposed to do? I’m supposed to just lay down and take it? I’m not going to do that.”
The Pender Post surmises it lost around $80,000 in revenue and had to scale back its sports content due to the ad revenue decreasing. Pettigrew also had to let go of their dedicated sports writer, Bobby Norris, who had been with the Post for 15 years.
“A lot of the advertising that we got from the county and the money we got from the county I spent on high school sports and we don’t have that anymore,” Pettigrew stated. “We’ve gone from three pages of sports down to one, and we’ve cut some other pages back so just to make our expenses lower.”
The Pender Post & Voice seeks compensatory and punitive damages from the county and commissioners for alleged financial and constitutional harms. It also requests declaratory judgments affirming the newspaper’s sole legal qualification under NCGS 1-597 and establishing the defendants violated its First Amendment and state constitutional rights through retaliation.
Additionally, the suit demands an injunction to reinstate the Pender Post as the official legal ad publisher and ensure future legal ad decisions are based on content-neutral, statutory criteria.
“We’re asking for them to reinstate everything as it was, to restore our advertising,” Pettigrew said.
The lawsuit
According to the lawsuit, the decision to change legal ad publications was taken by commissioners in “unlawful retaliation” for the newspaper’s exercise of its First Amendment right to free speech, specifically by publishing “unflattering columns and cartoons” about them.
Tension between the newspaper and Commissioners Groves, Burton and Springer reached a peak when the “Watchmen on the Wall” editorial section of the March 20 Pender Post & Topsail Voice depicted the three men as puppets. Phil Cordeiro, who is a Pender County GOP board member as well, was illustrated as the puppet master.
According to Pettigrew, the cartoon was inspired by the commissioners’ actions at a March 10 board meeting concerning the EMS and fire merger. Pettigrew contended commissioners bypassed rules in a manner which contradicted their own and Cordeiro’s stated emphasis on operating a transparent government.
In an op-ed on WHQR from March 27, Cordiero said governing should be a “collective effort” and encouraged citizens to advocate for a government that is “transparent, accountable and prepared for the future.”
More recent political ads include one from the Post’s April 3 edition titled “Baby Sitting,” illustrating Groves in a stroller with Burton and Springer positioned on either side. The accompanying column contended the goal of these commissioners, influenced by Cordeiro, was to “destroy the local newspaper” because its commitment to “seek out and print the truth” posed a threat to their political careers.
“Political cartoons have a long and illustrious history in the press in the United States of America, we just didn’t start that ourselves,” Pettigrew said. “We present it as opinion … plus they’re politicians, they’re not regular citizens. When you go into public life and you become an elected official, it’s a whole different set of rules.”
The lawsuit challenges the county’s decision to change papers by alleging the StarNews does not meet the full statutory requirements of NCGS 1-597. This statute mandates counties publish legal notices in newspapers with specific qualifications, including general circulation to paid subscribers and regular publication in the county where the notice is required.
The suit specifically contends the StarNews lacks the necessary periodicals mailing permit in Pender County to legally publish the notices there. Pettigrew stated Pender County Clerk of Court Elizabeth Craver confirmed to him months ago Pender Post is the only publication in the county “statutorily qualified” to run legal notices, despite the StarNews’s wider distribution from Wilmington.
At the April 22 meeting, Tate pressed County Attorney Trey Thurman on whether he had consulted with the county court clerk for her official opinion, a request Tate said he made previously. Thurman answered he spoke to a clerk’s assistant and believed the StarNews would be acceptable. Tate challenged Thurman, stating the clerk directly told the commissioner she would not accept notices from the StarNews.
StarNews covers multiple areas of southeastern North Carolina and some commissioners said its greater reach than Pender Post also would benefit the county.
“The StarNews also serves the entire 6th judicial district, including both Pender and New Hanover Counties, which is particularly important for legal notices related to estate claims, foreclosure sales, and public auctions that require regional visibility,” Commissioner Springer previously told PCD.
Tate also worried the change would cost the county more in the long run. Interim County Manager and Finance Director Meg Blue presented data during the April 22 meeting, showing the Pender Post received over $80,000 from Pender County for 209 legal ads in 2024, compared to the StarNews receiving approximately $1,052 for one ad in the same year. Blue noted the Pender Post’s charges were more consistent, whereas StarNews rates could fluctuate based on various factors like ad size, placement and day of publication.
The Post lawsuit also alleges violations of multiple provisions within the North Carolina Constitution. The plaintiffs contend the county’s actions infringe upon Article I, Section 14, broadly guaranteeing freedom of speech and the press, a right the lawsuit notes directly allows citizens to sue officials for its violation.
Furthermore, the suit invokes Article I, Sections 1 and 19, which include the “fruits of their labor clause.” This protects a person’s right to earn a living, ensuring they aren’t deprived of their property or livelihood without proper legal process. The Pender Post & Voice asserts operating a newspaper and selling advertising space is a legitimate business, and the commissioners’ removal of advertising represents an unconstitutional interference causing substantial financial harm without legitimate public purpose.
Port City Daily reached out to the county, County Attorney Trey Thurman, and Burton, Springer, and Groves for comment. Only the commissioners responded, noting they were unable to offer a statement on pending litigation.
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