PAT MCCRORY
STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS
MCCRORY STILL TRYING TO
SMEAR BLACK BLADEN PAC
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
Twenty-seven months after he lost re-election, former NC Gov. Pat McCrory, who revealed Monday he will not re-enter the political arena for now - is still insisting that his 2016 race in Bladen County was the victim of absentee ballot “voter fraud,” similar to what was proven in State Board of Elections hearings to have happened in Bladen County during the 2018 midterm elections.
After witness testimony and documented evidence last week, the SBOE ruled that the Bladen County portion of the Ninth Congressional District race was legally “tainted” by the deliberate mishandling of absentee ballots, and a new election should take place.
But McCrory is not placing the blame on Leslie McCrae Dowless, the white two-time convicted felon and political operative who allegedly ran the alleged election fraud scheme last year that helped Republican Mark Harris win that race.
Instead, the former governor and mayor of Charlotte is “falsely” pointing fingers at the black, Democratic Party funded Bladen Improvement Political Action Committee (BIPAC) as the culprit in his defeat, charging that the grassroots group ran a similar “voter fraud” operation to Dowless across the state, ultimately helping Democratic gubernatorial challenger Roy Cooper to oust him.
Published reports state that the Republican-controlled SBOE did look into McCrory’s complaint in 2016 – which was actually lodged by McCrae Dowless on behalf of McCrory - and dismissed it. Nothing was found to have cost McCrory his reelection.
“I don’t think this [SBOE] investigation should have been dropped whatsoever, and just adjourned, without finding out exactly what is happening regarding voter fraud in the state of North Carolina, especially with absentee voting,” McCrory said on his WBT-AM radio show Monday morning.
“It is time for the media and the elections board to reopen this investigation, in public – don’t wait for the federal or state authorities – and ask the question, “Who did what, when…not just in 2018, but in 2016 when I raised, as a gubernatorial candidate the exact same issues.
Irving Joyner, attorney for the BIPAC, responded Monday by countercingharging that McCrory “is lying” about why he lost in 2016, and in fact, alleges that McCrory was supported by the very same Leslie McCrae Dowless who was the central “person of interest” in the 2018 Ninth District race scandal that made national headlines.
“McCrory is lying about what happened to him in 2016,” Joyner says. “He lost the governor’s race and is attempting to falsely cast blame on others for his inept campaign.”
“The Bladen County Improvement Association did not engage in any illegal conduct during either the 2016 or 2018 campaigns.”
In fact, the GOP-led SBOE in 2016 determined then that Leslie McCrae Dowless was allegedly involved in illegal absentee ballot “harvesting,” and referred it’s findings to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District. But nothing was done to stop Dowless, and he was hired by the Harris campaign in 2018 to generate votes.
After his son, an assistant federal prosecutor, testified at the SBOE hearings that he tried to warn his father about Dowless, Mark Harris took the stand, and asked the SBOE to grant a new election, which it eventually did.
On Tuesday, Mark Harris announced that he will not run, instead endorsing a Union County commissioner. His Democratic opponent Dan McCready, has already begun his campaign again for the Ninth District Congressional seat.
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JUDGE COLLINS
STUNNING JUDICIAL VOTER ID
RULING SHOCKS REPUBLICANS
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
It is the lower court ruling heard throughout the state, and the only thing louder will be the intense battle coming to overturn it!
Wake Superior Court Judge G. Bryan Collins opened up a real political hornets’ nest with his Feb. 22nddecision to throw out two of the four North Carolina constitutional provisions passed by voters last November, effectively approving of a cap on state income taxes, and requiring a voter ID law.
The NCNAACP, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit that sought to overturn the voter ID law, was ecstatic with the ruling.
“We are delighted that the acts of the previous majority, which came to power through the use of racially discriminatory maps, have been checked,” N.C. NAACP President Rev. Dr. T. Anthony Spearman.
“We are delighted that the acts of the previous majority, which came to power through the use of racially discriminatory maps, have been checked,” N.C. NAACP President Rev. Dr. T. Anthony Spearman.
“The prior General Assembly’s attempt to use its ill-gotten power to enshrine a racist photo voter ID requirement in the state constitution was particularly egregious, and we applaud the court for invalidating these attempts at unconstitutional overreach.”
In his ruling, Judge Collins wrote, “…the constitutional amendments placed on the ballot on November 6, 2018 were approved by a General Assembly that did not represent the people of North Carolina….An illegally constituted General Assembly does not represent the people of North Carolina and is therefore not empowered to pass legislation that would amend the state’s constitution.”
Republican Party and legislative leaders across the state were steamed, to say the least. NC Republican Party Chairman Robin Hayes called the ruling “unprecedented and absurd.”
Railing against “a liberal judge,” state Senate President Pro tem Phil Berger remarked in a statement, “ We are duty-bound to appeal this absurd decision.”
Legislative attorney Martin Warf said, “an appeal is absolutely coming.”
Judge Collins’ ruling - that the 2018 NC legislature was illegal because the federal courts had determined that its members were elected from voting districts that were racially gerrymandered - effectively delays implementation of the voter ID law indefinitely, since it is certainly expected to be appealed to both the state Appellate Court, and ultimately the NC Supreme Court.
Of note is that any appeal from either Republican legislative defendants or the NCNAACP plaintiffs might be subject to a particular court’s partisan majority.
On the state Court of Appeals, Republicans hold a commanding majority, while on the NC Supreme Court, Democrats lead. But even with that, there is no true prediction whether the Collins ruling will be ultimately upheld.
Newspaper editorials across the state were cautious.
‘It’s a reach of legal logic, a ruling that appears more like progressive fist-pounding than something that should come from the bench,” stated the News and Observer Feb. 25th. “It also prompts a follow-up question: If, as Collins contends, gerrymandering strips the General Assembly of the authority to amend the N.C. constitution, wouldn’t it also render invalid any laws these same legislators pass?”
At press time, an appeal from Republican lawmakers was expected.
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ACTIVIST “REQUESTS” PUBLIC APOLOGY
FROM NHC SCHOOL BOARD CHAIR
By Cash Michaels
Staff writer
The head of the Southern Coalition for Equal Protections Under the Law has sent a letter to Lisa Estep, chairwoman of the NHC School Board, requesting a “public apology” for alleged mistreatment at a recent school board meeting.
“After careful research, consultation, and collaboration with friends, colleagues, and others, I have concluded that your actions at the February 5, 10019 New Hanover School Board Meeting, along with fellow board member actions--were an attempt to humiliate me and suppress my right to free speech,” wrote Rev. Dante Murphy, president of SCEP. “Your abridgement of my First Amendment Rights was demonstrated by your comments and a decision to halt my comments at the three-minute mark while you consistently allowed other speakers to go beyond that time limit without interruption.”
“This correspondence is a request for a public apology for your attack on my First Amendment rights….,” Rev. Murphy continued in the letter dated Feb. 26th, a copy of which was emailed to The Journal. “Because two of your fellow board members verbally supported your actions during that meeting, I am also requesting an apology from Mr. Wortmam and Mr. Beaulieu. Case law demonstrates clearly that my comments were well within my rights.”
Rev. Murphy later continued, “The Southern Coalition for Equal Protections Under the Law maintains that substantial evidence supports the conclusion that top administrators within the NHCSS inadequately responded to complaints of child sexual abuse and discrimination over the years, resulting in an abnormally high amount of lawsuits, federal investigations, and arrests of school personnel. An investigation, as requested by our group, could answer legitimate, logical, and pressing questions. You should investigate, in light of questions we have raised and evidence we have in hand. To fail to investigate, in light of what is known, will be clearly recorded in the history of this board's tenure. Top administrators cannot be trusted to adequately lead in their current capacities; and they cannot be trusted, of course, to investigate themselves. You have the authority and the moral duty to do the right thing.”
Rev. Murphy later continued, “The Southern Coalition for Equal Protections Under the Law maintains that substantial evidence supports the conclusion that top administrators within the NHCSS inadequately responded to complaints of child sexual abuse and discrimination over the years, resulting in an abnormally high amount of lawsuits, federal investigations, and arrests of school personnel. An investigation, as requested by our group, could answer legitimate, logical, and pressing questions. You should investigate, in light of questions we have raised and evidence we have in hand. To fail to investigate, in light of what is known, will be clearly recorded in the history of this board's tenure. Top administrators cannot be trusted to adequately lead in their current capacities; and they cannot be trusted, of course, to investigate themselves. You have the authority and the moral duty to do the right thing.”
Published reports have school officials saying that because of the nature of the allegations, they could not discuss any of the suspected cases publicly.
But Rev. Murphy felt that the boar could do more to assure the community that the allegations were being taken seriously.
“Public apologies will assure that the future rights of citizens to advocate for clean government, equal opportunities for students, and child safety are all protected, honored, and respected.,” he wrote. “Apologies will indicate that the NHCS Board is committed to acting in a professional manner while abiding by the Constitution of the United States of America.”
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STATE NEWS BRIEFS FOR 02-28-19
ATLANTA FEDERAL JUDGE MAINTAINS BENNETT’S ACCREDITATION
[GREENSBORO] A federal judge in Atlanta, Ga. maintained Bennett College for Women’s accreditation Feb. 22ndafter the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Schools informed Bennett officials that they had lost it’s appeal to keep the school open. Bennett had appealed the association’s initial ruling to close the school for lack of operational resources, raising over $9 million in a national effort. When its appeal was rejected, Bennett sued in federal court, getting a judge to issue a restraining order until an arrangement could be better reached.
NINTH DISTRICT ELECTION FRAUD CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION TAKES CENTERSTAGE
[RALEIGH] Now that the State Board of elections hearing into allegations of absentee Ballot fraud in last year’s Ninth Congre4ssional District race are over, and the SBOE has voted for s new election, the criminal investigation into “person of interest” Leslie McCrae Dowless and others allegedly involved is now the primary focus. Published reports say investigators with the State Bureau of Investigation and the Wake District Attorney’s office have issued three sealed search warrants for evidence. Financial papers have already been seized the State Employees Union, as lwell as cell phone records from Dowless’ account. No word at press time of pending arrests, if any.
COOPER CALLS FOR MEDICAID EXPANSION, MORE SCHOOLS FUNDING
[RALEIGH] In his second State of the State address since taking office in 2917, Gov. Roy Cooper told the Republican-led NC Legislature Monday that despite crushing natural disasters like two major hurricanes in recent years, the spirit of North Carolina is strong. But rural communities still need assistance, Medicaid health coverage for the poor needs to be expanded to more North Carolinians, and the state’s public schools need more funding. Cooper struck a tone of bipartisanship in hopes of working better with GOP legislative leadership. But in the Republican response, Lt. Gov. Dan Forest charged that Cooper has yet to show that he wants to work with GOP leaders.
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