RALEIGH — A former judicial candidate who won a 2020 election for a Superior Court seat but was later disqualified is now facing a complaint against him filed with the North Carolina State Bar.
The complaint filed against Democrat Timothy Gunther alleges his past campaign activities violate the rules of professional conduct.
The complaint asserts the 63-year-old Gunther “engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s fitness as a lawyer in violation of Rule 8.4(c) and failed to comply with the applicable provisions of the Code of Judicial Conduct in violation of Rule 8.2(b).”
Included in the complaint’s list of supporting claims is that Gunther also changed his address from the Cary address to the Fuquay-Varina address on other official documents that included a “concealed handgun permit and his vehicle registration.”
Gunther was admitted to the North Carolina Bar in 1992, the same year he obtained his law degree from Campbell University Law School.
The allegations in the complaint go back to the 2020 election cycle involving the Judicial District 10F race that had only two candidates, Gunther, who received over 56% of the vote and Republican candidate Beth Tanner, who received just under 44% of the vote.
Gunther’s victory, however, was short-lived. Not long after the election, the Wake County Board of Elections announced that Gunther had been disqualified to hold the office after admitting he had violated state law by lying about where he lived in his campaign filings.
The Fuquay Varina address Gunther listed on his filings put his residence inside the 10F District, however, he did not actually live there. The Fuquay Varina residence is that of his ex-wife and their children. Gunther had actually been living in Cary since 2006, putting him in District 10D.
During the last weekend of February, Gunther was arrested on felony obstruction of justice and false filing charges related to his campaign filings, according to arrest records. Following his arrest, he was released on a $10,000 unsecured bond.
On April 13, 2021, Gov. Roy Cooper filled the vacancy by appointing Damion McCullers to the 10F seat.
“Damion McCullers is an experienced attorney and thoughtful leader who will make an excellent District Court Judge. I appreciate his willingness to serve Wake County and North Carolina,” said Cooper in a press release.
