Why Partisan Elections Matter in Kinston, NC

Submitted by HallStyle on Fri, 10/30/2009 - 6:55pm


All through out this Municipal Election Cycle people have been talking about the Justice Departments Decision to Reject the Non Partisan Referendum Pushed by Fmr. District 10 Rep. and Fmr. Lenoir County Republican Party Chairman Stephen LaRoque. People (Mainly BJ Murphy) have been complaining that this is so bad for the City and that the Justice Department shouldn't have stepped in and went against the will of the people.

Well I say that is LaRoque didn't try to decieve the people into thinking his motives were pure plus if he would have allowed for wards that the Justice Department would have never ruled against it. But based on WHO they were dealing with (LaRoque) and the Demographics of the City (Not Just Racial but Political) and the lack of Wards in the proposal they had to rule against it. It was the only fair thing to do.

I mean come on. The most partisan guy in the county pushing for "Non Partisan Elections"?

Doesn't that seem a little odd to anyone other than myself? At some point you have to ask yourself what do they gain from this? Glad you asked! Political Power!

There are 11,349 Registered Democrats in the City of Kinston. There are only 1,856 Registered Republicans in the City of Kinston and only 1,818 Registered Independents in the City of Kinston.

WOW! 75% of the Registered Voters in the City of Kinston are Democrat. You would think that if a majority of the city was for "Non Partisan Elections" there would be more Registered "Independents huh?

News flash, their not! It is my opinion that a lot of low information voters weren't aware of the implications of voting for the referendum. They were deceived! There were no letters in the paper at that time opposed to it. I wrote a few but they weren't published.

This has been a "Political Tactic" by the Lenoir County Republican Party to get some of their members into office. Bottom line, point blank, period. Their calculation is that without the party affiliation people will more likely vote off of name recognition thus making the candidate with the most money to push their name on the population the one with the best chance of winning! Knowing that most Democrats vote straight Democrat and that the City is Vastly majority Democrat they had to find away to do away with Party Affiliations. Thus we have the Non Partisan Referendum in a Nut Shell. Some will say that these are the ramblings of a mad man. But just look at who is pushing this the hardest. BJ Murphy and Stephen LaRoque. Laroque fmr. Party Chairman and Murphy Fmr. Party Vice Chair.

Democratically Yours,

Anthony D. Hall
President - Young Democrats of Lenoir County
Member - Lenoir County Board of Health

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Partisan elections

Submitted by James on Sat, 10/31/2009 - 3:37pm.

Though I rarely turn to the Washington Times for insight, I think it's worth considering their interpretation.

The Justice Department's ruling, which affects races for City Council and mayor, went so far as to say partisan elections are needed so that black voters can elect their "candidates of choice" - identified by the department as those who are Democrats and almost exclusively black.

The department ruled that white voters in Kinston will vote for blacks only if they are Democrats and that therefore the city cannot get rid of party affiliations for local elections because that would violate black voters' right to elect the candidates they want.

I admit to not knowing all the details, but this seems more than a little strange to me.

Do good. Be nice. Have fun.

Justice Department know how far the Lenoir GOP would take this!

Submitted by HallStyle on Sat, 10/31/2009 - 5:36pm.

To make their argument.

All they had to say was this is being pushed by a Far Right Wing Fmr. Republican Party Chair and Ousted Fmr. State Rep with an axe to grind against the Democratic Party in a city that is 75% Democrat and Votes overwhelming Democrat. To suggest that THIS individual is actually for Non Partisan Elections is absurd.

The City is over 60 percent African American Yes! I would say that an overwhelming majority of them are Democrat Yes, and I would also say that most of them probably didn't have a clue of what they were voting for when they voted for Non Partisan Elections or were totally aware of the ramifications of doing so.

But by interjecting race into their decision making process it gives a little ground to the Extreme Right wing. Thats about all it does. The chances of this being overturned are pretty slim. The City Council would have to approve an Appeal and they aren't likely to do so.

It is unfortunate that Stephen LaRoque attempted this power play to begin with. Now it only serves as a Media Attention grabbing campaign that no good Politician would fail to take advantage of.

Anthony D. Hall,

Fighting for Truth, Justice, Freedom and the American Way!

I see a US Supreme Court ruling in your future

Submitted by James on Sun, 11/01/2009 - 2:59pm.

I can imagine that this conflation of race and partisan elections will eventually find its way to the Supremes.

Do good. Be nice. Have fun.

Don't go to the Times for Lenoir County News!

Submitted by HallStyle on Sat, 10/31/2009 - 5:32pm.

Or Stephen LaRoque for that matter. They have a way of twisting the truth.

Anthony D. Hall,

Fighting for Truth, Justice, Freedom and the American Way!