Dec. 5. The Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners inducted long-time Commissioner Pat Cotham into Mecklenburg County’s Order of the Hornet. Cotham, a dependable champion of North Mecklenburg interests, served as chair of the board during her first term.

The Order of the Hornet is the highest honor bestowed by the Board, for people who have displayed a high level of service to the residents of Mecklenburg County.

COTHAM

Cotham was elected at-large in 2012, her first elected office, and served on the Board until 2024. She was defeated in the Democratic primary in March by Yvette Townsend-Ingram.

Background from  Mecklenburg County

“The Order of the Hornet was established in 1972. It is bestowed by the Board of County Commissioners on persons who have displayed valor or high order of service uniquely and specifically to the residents of Mecklenburg County. This is the highest honor bestowed by the Board. The Order of the Hornet was founded in the spirit of the early Mecklenburg patriots who signed the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence on May 20, 1775, and proclaimed the County’s freedom from Britain more than a year before the U.S. Declaration of Independence was signed. Those early patriots valiantly fought for their independence during the Revolution and gave Lord Cornwallis such difficulties during his occupation of Charlotte that he termed the town a “hornet’s nest” of rebellion.

“Cotham reflects the honor, strength, and fierce American patriotism that so stung Lord Cornwallis and is being recommended for membership in the Order of the Hornet. Commissioner Cotham served on the Board of County Commissioners from December 2012 to December 2024. Her election in 2012 was her first elected office. She earned a BA in Spanish and a BJ in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She is a trustee to the N.C. Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, a Democratic National Committee member and a delegate member of the Executive Council of the N.C. Democratic Party. She is an active member of the St. Matthew’s Catholic Church,a Democratic Party Precinct leader, past president of the Mecklenburg County Democratic Women, chair of Uptown Democratic Forum and a member of the Charlotte 2012 Host Committee. She was the 2012 award winner as the “Grassroots Leader of the Year” for the Mecklenburg County.”