The Lexington City Council last night unanimously voted to annex four adjacent areas. Now it’s time to bring on the lawyers:
The Citizens United Against Forced Annexation, a group of soon-to-be-Lexington residents, has raised $38,000 to go toward a legal defense fund with a goal of raising a total of $100,000. Vice president of the CAFA group Mike Bralkowski, a Sapona resident, said the law firm Adams Hendon Carson Crow and Saenger has been retained to represent residents in all of the areas that the city plans to annex.
Bralkowski said the firm has experience in fighting municipal annexations and recently helped Rowan County residents defeat an annexation attempt by the City of Salisbury earlier this year. Larry Harvey, who owns several auto sales companies on Winston Road, has hired his own personal attorney and has previously told the city council that he would spend $250,000 of his own money to fight the city’s annexation plans. Bralkowski said the group has 60 days to file a lawsuit against the city.
After the meeting, (Lexington Mayor John) Walser said he’s confident any legal challenge to the city’s annexation plans would hold up in court.
“I don’t want to be combative, but I feel two or three things for sure. I think we’re legally and technically very, very strong. I’m going to say something I shouldn’t, but I don’t think they have a case. If they do, we will hire the best legal minds in this area in the state,” Walser said.
City Council member Victor Kiger also gave annexation opponents an interesting lecture on the Constitution.
Councilman Victor Kiger was the only council member to address the packed crowd at city hall. Kiger said Lexington, like the state and federal governments, is a representative republic, not a democracy, and residents don’t get to vote on any given issue.
“The federal government didn’t allow a vote on reauthorization of the Patriot Act. Nor do they allow a vote on income tax rates or even a vote on Supreme Court judges — and they serve a life term. The state legislature doesn’t allow a vote on sales tax rates or individual and corporate tax rates,” Kiger said.
“I’ve heard many times that our role is to simply rubber stamp the will of the people. That’s not true. The oath of office that I have taken, the other eight (council members), is simply to defend the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of North Carolina and to serve the best interest of the city residents of Lexington,” Kiger said.
