By Richard Sullins | richard@rantnc.com

Republican Taylor Vorbeck resigned from the Lee County Board of Commissioners at the end of Monday night’s meeting.

Vorbeck made the announcement just 10 minutes before the meeting adjourned. Although she was not seeking re-election on this year’s ballot, she still took many present by surprise.

“This decision has come only after much prayer, thoughtful consideration, and many conversations with my family,” she said. “It has not been made quickly, nor has it been made lightly. Serving as your commissioner has been one of the greatest honors of my life. Public service is not always easy, but I have appreciated the opportunity to have served. Leadership is not defined by a title or an elective office, but by the way we choose to serve others each day.”

Vorbeck was elected in 2022 to represent the county’s fourth district – much of western Lee County – on the Board of Commissioners. Republican school board member Eric Davidson and Democratic former school board member Jamey Laudate are vying to fill her seat in the November elections.

Her decision to leave the board now creates a temporary 3-3 partisan split between Republicans and Democrats until a replacement is appointed. Under North Carolina General Statute 153A-27, the remaining six commissioners are responsible for filling the vacancy. The appointee must come from the same party as Vorbeck and be a resident of the 4th District, and the commissioners are required to consult the Lee County Republican Party Executive Committee before making a selection.

The Lee GOP committee’s recommendation is advisory, though, and the final decision rests with the commissioners. If the board doesn’t fill the vacancy within 60 days, the appointment passes to the Lee County Clerk of Superior Court. The person appointed would serve until the winner of the race between Davidson and Laudate takes office in December.

Vorbeck quickly established a reputation as a tough questioner who clearly did her homework before meetings. Commission Chair Samantha Martin, a fellow Republican, paid tribute to the level of thoroughness Vorbeck brought to her work, and Democratic Commissioner Robert Reives said “you are truly a dedicated person, and we have been blessed to have had you.”

Vorbeck worked hard to establish her own voice, even when it meant running afoul of local Republican Party leadership. She once referred to local GOP Chairman Jim Womack as an “unelected dictator” who ran the party through “fear, bullying, and control” in ways that left individuals unable to form their own opinions, and there were times when speaking up for her own beliefs left her standing alone.

When she supported long-term Chairman of the Central Carolina Community College board of trustees Julian Philpott for reappointment, Vorbeck was censured and kicked out of the Lee County GOP for two years because she had not supported the party’s recommendation. Philpott is an unaffiliated voter. Vorbeck said later “we should be putting the person over the party into these positions.”

Vorbeck and her family will be moving to western North Carolina’s mountains within the next few weeks, where she’ll begin a new path she hopes will ultimately take her to law school. Whatever form her future may take, she believes it will be centered around creating change.

“I need change,” she told The Rant less than a year ago. “I’m calling for change, I’m calling for those who want to see a change happen to step up and show up.”