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State Board of Elections sends a message to the TEA Party: "Shut up and fall in line as we tell you to."
Publisher's Note: This article originally appeared in the Beaufort Observer.
The North Carolina State Republican Board of Elections met this morning (12-20-13) at 9:00 a.m. and kicked off the meeting with a real "Boss Hog" attitude.
The State Board of Elections is the state agency charged with overall responsibility for overseeing the administration of the elections process and campaign finance reporting in North Carolina. The State Board itself is composed of five members, who are political appointees of the Governor.
The Board Chairman is Joshua B. Howard (R) with Secretary Rhonda K. Amoroso (R) and Members Joshua D. Malcolm (D), Paul J. Foley (R) and Maja Kricker (D).
On the agenda for this morning's meeting were charges brought by William Buonanno, a neighbor of Larry Britt in Blounts Creek in Beaufort County, who charged that Delma Blinson was breaking an elections law by making a motion at the October 17, 2013 Beaufort Patriot Tea Party meeting to endorse Greg Brannon for US Senate. Under NCGS 163-39, Dr. Blinson had every right to act as an individual, not representing the Beaufort County Board of Elections, to participate in making the motion for the Tea Party to endorse Greg Brannon. It should be noted that Dr. Blinson's participation in the meeting did not become public until Buonanno filed his complaint.
NCGS § 163-39 reads:
No individual subject to this Article shall:
(1) Make written or oral statements intended for general distribution or dissemination to the public at large supporting or opposing the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates for public office.
(2) Make written or oral statements intended for general distribution or dissemination to the public at large supporting or opposing the passage of one or more clearly identified referendum proposals.
(3) Solicit contributions for a candidate, political committee, or referendum committee.
Individual expressions of opinion, support, or opposition not intended for general public distribution shall not be deemed a violation of this Article.(emphasis added)
At the beginning of the hearing Chairman Howard asked if there were people present to speak to the matter. W.L. Buzz Cayton, Chairman of the Beaufort Patriot Tea Party, stood up and Keith Kidwell, Chairman of the Beaufort County Republican Party, raised his hand.
Dr. Blinson was asked to come forward and make his statement. Half way through his statement the Chairman interrupted him and began firing questions in a belligerent manner. It was evident from the questions that the decision in this case had already been decided before the evidence from the defense was heard. In fact, the board had already prepared an order to be issued. Without hearing the remainder of Dr. Blinson's presentation, the Chairman called for a vote to dismiss Dr. Blinson from the County Board. Buzz Cayton rose from the public section and requested to be recognized to speak. He was told in an abrupt manner that the case was closed.
Even though Chairman Howard had recognized Cayton and Kidwell, who had driven over one hundred miles from the eastern part of the state to speak for Dr. Blinson, they were denied any time to speak.
William Buonanno was not present to allow the accused to question him, so all of this was done by hearsay evidence and a letter from this disgruntled member of the Republican Party.
It seems evident that some of the Republican Establishment is out to get the Tea Party and used this festering member of the Beaufort County Republican Party to send a message to the TEA Party members across the state that they best shut up and tow the line.
The Beaufort Patriot Tea party is a community organization that does not formally belong to any other affiliation. They are not a tax-exempt 501 corporation. They never make monetary contributions to any candidate or political party and do not collect dues or keep minutes. Their primary purpose is to educate others on the issues of the day and to promote information on candidates that will uphold the Constitution.
There is a major division within the Republican Party in Beaufort County. That division very much reflects the division that also exists at the state and national levels. Oversimplified, the political landscape in Beaufort County could be said to be divided between the conservative, grassroots faction on one hand and the establishment faction on the other. We have, in fact, two "Republican" clubs in addition to the TEA Party in Beaufort County. This complaint is a direct result of the conflict between those two broadly defined factions. An assessment of this complaint compels an understanding of the context of division from which it grows. This is true because the complaint seeks to use the State Board of Elections in retaliation against Dr. Blinson because the other side disagrees with his politics. Removing him from office cast the State Board as siding against one side and in support of the other side. The State Board has allowed themselves to become a vehicle for petty vindictiveness and does not portray a competent group interpreting rules for honest elections. Thus, the irony in Friday's hearing is that it punished Dr. Blinson for what it said was a potential perception of bias, yet the board itself was perceived by many present as being biased in the way it handled the matter.
This festering faction in Beaufort County tampered with the local Board of Elections selection process, when the new board was selected, by lobbying officials in Raleigh in favor of overturning the duly elected nominees for the County Elections Board. In the end, a person who received the least number of votes in the Executive Committee selection process, and has the least respect as a leader in the local Republican Party, was chosen over an individual who got all but two of the committee's votes.
The ripple effect of these decisions will likely have a significant effect on the participation of the conservatives in the Republican Party in the upcoming General Election. If the Tea Party "sits-out" in the General Election the Republicans cannot garner enough votes to win any statewide office. Do the math. So the State Board of Elections not only followed bad policy Friday, it also exhibited bad politics as well. What it did not do was give a perception of fairness but rather conveyed a perception that it was itself doing exactly what it was punishing Dr. Blinson for doing. The difference was that Dr. Blinson was open, honest and candid about his position. The State Board simply offered a façade for its integrity. Everybody knows election officials have positions on political issues. The Board of Elections' pretense that this is not true is dishonest. What is needed is an honest election process and that is not achieved by duplicity and pretense.
Click here to read Delma Blinson's take on this issue.
Go Back
The North Carolina State Republican Board of Elections met this morning (12-20-13) at 9:00 a.m. and kicked off the meeting with a real "Boss Hog" attitude.
The State Board of Elections is the state agency charged with overall responsibility for overseeing the administration of the elections process and campaign finance reporting in North Carolina. The State Board itself is composed of five members, who are political appointees of the Governor.
The Board Chairman is Joshua B. Howard (R) with Secretary Rhonda K. Amoroso (R) and Members Joshua D. Malcolm (D), Paul J. Foley (R) and Maja Kricker (D).
On the agenda for this morning's meeting were charges brought by William Buonanno, a neighbor of Larry Britt in Blounts Creek in Beaufort County, who charged that Delma Blinson was breaking an elections law by making a motion at the October 17, 2013 Beaufort Patriot Tea Party meeting to endorse Greg Brannon for US Senate. Under NCGS 163-39, Dr. Blinson had every right to act as an individual, not representing the Beaufort County Board of Elections, to participate in making the motion for the Tea Party to endorse Greg Brannon. It should be noted that Dr. Blinson's participation in the meeting did not become public until Buonanno filed his complaint.
NCGS § 163-39 reads:
No individual subject to this Article shall:
(1) Make written or oral statements intended for general distribution or dissemination to the public at large supporting or opposing the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates for public office.
(2) Make written or oral statements intended for general distribution or dissemination to the public at large supporting or opposing the passage of one or more clearly identified referendum proposals.
(3) Solicit contributions for a candidate, political committee, or referendum committee.
Individual expressions of opinion, support, or opposition not intended for general public distribution shall not be deemed a violation of this Article.(emphasis added)
At the beginning of the hearing Chairman Howard asked if there were people present to speak to the matter. W.L. Buzz Cayton, Chairman of the Beaufort Patriot Tea Party, stood up and Keith Kidwell, Chairman of the Beaufort County Republican Party, raised his hand.
Dr. Blinson was asked to come forward and make his statement. Half way through his statement the Chairman interrupted him and began firing questions in a belligerent manner. It was evident from the questions that the decision in this case had already been decided before the evidence from the defense was heard. In fact, the board had already prepared an order to be issued. Without hearing the remainder of Dr. Blinson's presentation, the Chairman called for a vote to dismiss Dr. Blinson from the County Board. Buzz Cayton rose from the public section and requested to be recognized to speak. He was told in an abrupt manner that the case was closed.
Even though Chairman Howard had recognized Cayton and Kidwell, who had driven over one hundred miles from the eastern part of the state to speak for Dr. Blinson, they were denied any time to speak.
William Buonanno was not present to allow the accused to question him, so all of this was done by hearsay evidence and a letter from this disgruntled member of the Republican Party.
It seems evident that some of the Republican Establishment is out to get the Tea Party and used this festering member of the Beaufort County Republican Party to send a message to the TEA Party members across the state that they best shut up and tow the line.
The Beaufort Patriot Tea party is a community organization that does not formally belong to any other affiliation. They are not a tax-exempt 501 corporation. They never make monetary contributions to any candidate or political party and do not collect dues or keep minutes. Their primary purpose is to educate others on the issues of the day and to promote information on candidates that will uphold the Constitution.
There is a major division within the Republican Party in Beaufort County. That division very much reflects the division that also exists at the state and national levels. Oversimplified, the political landscape in Beaufort County could be said to be divided between the conservative, grassroots faction on one hand and the establishment faction on the other. We have, in fact, two "Republican" clubs in addition to the TEA Party in Beaufort County. This complaint is a direct result of the conflict between those two broadly defined factions. An assessment of this complaint compels an understanding of the context of division from which it grows. This is true because the complaint seeks to use the State Board of Elections in retaliation against Dr. Blinson because the other side disagrees with his politics. Removing him from office cast the State Board as siding against one side and in support of the other side. The State Board has allowed themselves to become a vehicle for petty vindictiveness and does not portray a competent group interpreting rules for honest elections. Thus, the irony in Friday's hearing is that it punished Dr. Blinson for what it said was a potential perception of bias, yet the board itself was perceived by many present as being biased in the way it handled the matter.
This festering faction in Beaufort County tampered with the local Board of Elections selection process, when the new board was selected, by lobbying officials in Raleigh in favor of overturning the duly elected nominees for the County Elections Board. In the end, a person who received the least number of votes in the Executive Committee selection process, and has the least respect as a leader in the local Republican Party, was chosen over an individual who got all but two of the committee's votes.
The ripple effect of these decisions will likely have a significant effect on the participation of the conservatives in the Republican Party in the upcoming General Election. If the Tea Party "sits-out" in the General Election the Republicans cannot garner enough votes to win any statewide office. Do the math. So the State Board of Elections not only followed bad policy Friday, it also exhibited bad politics as well. What it did not do was give a perception of fairness but rather conveyed a perception that it was itself doing exactly what it was punishing Dr. Blinson for doing. The difference was that Dr. Blinson was open, honest and candid about his position. The State Board simply offered a façade for its integrity. Everybody knows election officials have positions on political issues. The Board of Elections' pretense that this is not true is dishonest. What is needed is an honest election process and that is not achieved by duplicity and pretense.
Click here to read Delma Blinson's take on this issue.
Considering the advancement of Republican Party influence in North Carolina: Would the more Republican approach be:
1.77% To support the established party infrastructure at the sole discretion of leadership?
91.52% To marshal the power of the grassroots electorate to sustain their principles?
6.71% To remain in the dark, while fed manure, as in the classic mushroom theory?
283 total vote(s) Voting has Ended!
| Best response = cutting the cord | Editorials, Beaufort Observer, Op-Ed & Politics | CommenTerry: Volume Four |
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