PENDER COUNTY — The appointment of Beth Burns to the Pender County Board of Commissioners continues to snowball in controversy, with now three appeals being filed regarding the vote securing her potential two-month stint. In the last two weeks alone, two appeals were submitted — both from Pender County GOP Executive Committee members who claim fairness was not executed among voting members and the state party should intervene.
Per state law, the 29-member Pender County GOP Executive Committee are required to vote on former commissioner Brad George’s appointment since he was a Republican and resigned from his commissioner seat at the beginning of August. Two people threw their name into the hat, including school board member Beth Burns and district 1 candidate Shayne Frey, who won the primary in March and is the Republican candidate for the position in November.
However, Burns won the appointment by one vote. She has repeatedly declined interview requests, telling Port City Daily previously she wanted to “allow the process to play out and see what happens.”
READ MORE: Beth Burns commissioner appointment tabled after new appeal is filed
ALSO: State GOP dismisses complaint against commissioner appointment in Pender County
Earlier this week, on Sept. 8, her appointment was tabled by the Pender County Board of Commissioners, due to Chair Randy Burton’s second appeal to the state Republican Party. He first appealed her nomination, questioning whether a spouse is barred from voting for their partner during the appointment process. Burns’ husband, Jim, also sits on the GOP executive committee and cast a vote for George’s replacement.
The North Carolina Republican Party upheld Burns’ appointment on Aug. 30, indicating the vote followed rules and procedures outlined in the North Carolina Republican Party Plan of Organization. It’s a governing document for the state Republican Party that dictates procedures for voting, meetings and vacancies.
But Burton, also a voting member on the executive committee of the county GOP, challenged it again Sept. 4. He is asking for the North Carolina Republican Party’s entire North Carolina GOP committee.
Burton did not respond to questions asking about why he believes the state party has not acted in accordance with its rules and what led him to file the appeal.
According to Pender County GOP Party Chair Josh Smith, the initial appeal by Burton requested the chairman and general council of the state review whether Jim Burns was eligible to vote during the Aug. 20 executive committee session.
Smith suspects it will take weeks to get a decision if the entire state executive committee has to vote.
“If this does go into a few weeks, we’re into mid-October before we’re looking to even get this back on the [commissioners’] agenda, which would also affect the appointment of a new school board member once Mrs. Burns resigns from her position on the board,” Smith said.
Burns announced she would step down from the school board, contingent on the board of commissioners fulfilling the party’s appointment. So the Pender County GOP hasn’t even broached the board of education seat yet; as Smith says applications won’t open until Burns’ seat is officially vacant.
The Pender GOP have requested a copy of Burton’s official appeal and information regarding the process the NCGOP Plan of Organization Committee will use to review and determine the outcome. The county GOP also continues to stand by the Aug. 20 vote for Burns’ appointment.
However, in the midst of settling one appeal, Smith told Port City Daily another has come through, complicating matters further.
He fears the heightened political temperature may be taking away from the work the organization is trying to do while also hindering the board of commissioners and putting the board of education in limbo.
“What Michael Whatley told me when he was chair of the North Carolina Republican Party is don’t stick your hand between two barking dogs, because what most likely is going to happen is both of them are going to bite you,” Smith said.
On Sept. 10, Andi Pettigrew, owner of the Pender-Topsail Post and Voice and another voting member of the Pender County Republican Party Executive Committee, submitted a complaint to the state party questioning if its Plan of Organization had been followed during the Aug. 20 vote.
Pettigrew has asked the executive committee whether its voting process was fair to both candidates. The State Plan of Organization indicates fairness to candidates as a requirement when a vote is being held to fill a vacancy in a county office, but the document does not specify what fairness would look like.
Pettigrew urged the organization to review the participation of Phil Cordeiro — a former Pender County school board member and Pender County executive committee member. Pettigrew questions the equitability of Corderio’s vote due to him allegedly being involved in Frey’s campaign.
Port City Daily reached out to Cordeiro for an interview but did not hear back by press.
Corderio and Pettigrew have been at odds at least since March 2025, when Pettigrew published an editorial illustration in the Post and Voice portraying Cordeiro as having influence over some county commissioners, including Randy Burton, Jerry Groves and Brett Springer.
“The Pender Post has labeled me a puppet master, and insinuated I’m a boogeyman pulling the strings of a majority of our county commissioners,” Corderio wrote in an op-ed about transparency for WHQR. “Now that’s nonsense if I’ve ever heard it, and an insult to the voters of Pender County and the officials who hold public office on their behalf.”
In his complaint to the state GOP, Pettigrew alleges during the primary election Cordeiro worked to advance Frey’s candidacy, making him the nominee.
Pettigrew told Port City Daily Friday he received emails from an anonymous source between Cordeiro and Frey, indicating Cordeiro writes social media posts for the candidate and tells him how to file his campaign contributions.
Pettigrew declined to share the emails but stated they have been sent to the state GOP.
“We have a group in the county that doesn’t want Mrs. Burns on that board, and they’re represented by some of our county commissioners that are sitting on that board,” Pettigrew said.
He added his challenge wasn’t meant to impact the vote for appointment of Burns but rather ensure the process was done in a way that put both candidates on an even playing field.
“My point is: If you’re going to apply a personal interest standard to Mr. Burns simply because he’s a family member then why shouldn’t why shouldn’t we apply a personal interest standard to another individual who’s acting as the de facto campaign chairman and director of one of the ones that was being voted on? Fair’s fair,” Pettigrew said.
Smith says the party is currently in “unprecedented times” and is unsure what would happen if either of the challenges prevail. His assumption is the vote would be voided.
He also said he did not expect the process to drag on this long, as he has never seen challenges like these in the past.
“We absolutely expected this to go through and to be already onto the next phase, whatever that would be,” he said.
Friday morning Smith sent an email to Pender County Republican Party members in what he called “a cry for unity.”
“When I was told five-and-a-half years ago that I was the new kindergarten teacher for Pender County politics, I laughed,” Smith wrote in the email. “Throughout the last few years, especially during past primary seasons, I understood exactly what that meant. These days it seems to extend far past the Primary Elections. Truth is, that’s an unfair comparison since Kindergarten teachers actually have authority to control their classrooms.”
He also wrote that the party is currently divided and urged its members to be more cognizant of what they say and post on social media.
Smith told Port City Daily some candidates are no longer involved in races for November after losing their primaries or deciding not to run again. Burton lost his district 2 seat to challenger Ryan Collins, who will face off against Democrat Brookey Hardee this November.
Smith believes this is informing decisions of some Pender GOP members, rather than focusing on looking out for the candidates running for positions in November.
“In Pender County, the only thing that can stop Republicans is Republicans,” Smith said.
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