Democratic State Rep. Cecil Brockman is living on borrowed time. The Guilford County representative was charged with statutory rape and taking indecent liberties with a 15-year-old on Oct. 8. Two options are likely: Either he resigns, or the state House takes matters into its own hands by launching an ethics investigation to expel him.
So far, Brockman hasn’t indicated whether he will resign. He remains in custody on a $1.05 million bond while awaiting trial.
While Brockman mostly votes with the House Democratic caucus, he has historically helped Republicans by “taking a walk” during key veto override votes. On occasion, he has removed himself from the vote, effectively lowering the number of Republican votes needed to meet a three-fifths threshold to override the governor’s vetoes.
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Last year, Brockman did not show up for the veto override vote on Senate Bill 382, a Hurricane Helene relief bill that also stripped the governor’s elections appointment power, among other significant changes opposed by the broader Democratic caucus. He was also absent for veto override votes on controversial bills related to cooperation with federal immigration officials, election changes and repealing pistol permit purchases.
This session, Brockman voted with the Democratic caucus on several vetoed bills, but supported veto overrides of a charter school bill and the Personal Privacy Protection Act.
If Brockman resigns, his departure wouldn’t completely flip the math. Whether there are 119 or 120 lawmakers in the state House, Republicans need 72 votes to override a veto. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t political implications, said Western Carolina University political science professor Chris Cooper.
“Yes, it’s about the votes,” Cooper said. “It’s also about the work that the Democrats have tried to do to keep Brockman in the fold, and Brockman has taken some pretty public shots at the Democratic Party.”
Case details
Brockman is charged with two counts of statutory rape and two counts of taking indecent liberties with a minor 15-year-old or younger. They are Class B1 and Class F felonies, respectively.
According to last week’s hearing, the maximum sentence is life in prison without parole. Brockman allegedly met the 15-year-old on an online dating app, and the pair lived together in an apartment near Atlanta for several months.
Court records cited the “electronic evidence present” and Brockman’s “access to abundant resources to aid in his flight from prosecution” as reasons to set his bail at $1.05 million.
Brockman had attempted to contact the victim and “gone as far as attempting to locate the juvenile in the hospital and attempting to use his status to gain information on the whereabouts of the victim,” records state.
His next court hearing is Nov. 13.
Brockman is facing pressure from all sides to resign immediately.
“While every person is entitled to due process under the law, these allegations are incompatible with representing his district as a member of the North Carolina House, and a distraction from the important work we still have left to do,” the Progressive House Caucus said in a statement.
House Speaker Destin Hall called the charges “shocking and extremely serious” in a social media post.
“Given the evidence that’s publicly known, he should resign immediately so these charges do not distract from the work of the North Carolina House,” Hall wrote.
What happens if Brockman resigns?
Typically, lawmakers resign before their legal troubles start, said House Democratic Minority Leader Robert Reives.
“So this is unusual for a sitting member to be charged and still be in,” he said.
But there is still time. Brockman may still opt for resignation.
“I mean, the guy has the trial of his life before him, and so to try to juggle, even at the margins, legislative service, would be a lot,” Cooper said.
If Brockman resigns, there’s a standard process the state would follow to replace him in the interim before the 2026 election.
Organized Democratic Party precinct chairs and vice chairs, board members and elected officials in Brockman’s Guilford County district would hold a county executive committee meeting. The Democrats are entitled to do this because they are the party that nominated Brockman.
The party executive committee meeting would allow anyone in the district to nominate themselves for consideration. The meeting would then vote on who they want to replace Brockman until the 2026 election. The governor would then formally appoint that choice to the legislature to finish Brockman’s term.
A few names are already percolating in case Brockman resigns. Amanda Cook declared her intention to run against Brockman in next year’s primary months ago. Cook is currently a High Point at-large councilwoman, and previously ran for Guilford County School Board.
Bruce Davis, a former Guilford County Commissioner who unsuccessfully ran for mayor and Congress, is another.
Several people called Davis after the news broke asking him to throw his hat in, and he decided to oblige, he told Carolina Public Press.
He said he would probably not operate the same way Brockman has in the legislature. He doesn’t see himself voting against the Democratic caucus or having many absences.
“I think my ideas are in line with theirs for the most part,” Davis said.
James Adams, who narrowly lost the District 60 primary in 2024 to Brockman, said he isn’t running.
“The situation has been a complete surprise,” he said.
District 60 is very blue; it went for Kamala Harris by 24 percentage points in 2024.
Guilford County Democratic Party chair Kathy Kirkpatrick hopes that whoever replaces Brockman would be less likely to break with the Democratic caucus.
“I know that other people may be interested,” she said. “People are exploring, but we can’t do a thing until the seat is actually vacant.”
What if Brockman doesn’t resign?
Forced expulsion from the state legislature is rare — it’s only happened once since 1880.
In 2008, New Hanover Democrat Thomas Wright was expelled from the state House for campaign finance trouble, Cooper said.
Before him, Orange County lawmaker Josiah Turner was expelled in 1880 for disorderly conduct.
The rules for expulsion are “clear as mud,” Cooper said. All the state Constitution says is that each legislative chamber is the judge of qualifications of its own members.
Reives said any expulsion procedure would be in Speaker Hall’s hands. If Hall decided to launch an investigation, it would go to the Legislative Ethics Committee, a group of lawmakers.
The committee would look at evidence and hold hearings to determine whether Brockman broke criminal law as a lawmaker. The committee could dismiss the charge, issue an admonishment or recommend expulsion. If it recommends expulsion, the full House would vote on the matter.
Whatever determination made by the ethics committee or the House would be separate from court proceedings.
It’s also possible that Brockman resigns if he’s convicted of the charges or faces imminent expulsion, but he waits until then.
Guilford Democrat Earl Jones ran against Brockman in 2014. He’s been drawn out of the district since, so he won’t vie for his seat, but he said he always questioned Brockman’s integrity and work ethic.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if this thing doesn’t play out with expulsion, with the General Assembly needing to expel him,” Jones said. “That wouldn’t surprise me a bit.”
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