Have we plowed this ground before?
Remember the state Agriculture Commissioner race? You know, the one where there's no decision yet because of a bum-fuzzled voting machine and two unsuccessful attempts by the N.C. Board of Elections to settle things?
Well, depending on how things shake out, that race could be heading back to court even before the state board has a chance to meet again.
Click below for the details.
RALEIGH - The N.C. Board of Elections is dragging its feet rather than settling the long-contest Agriculture Commissioner race, candidate Steve Troxler said in a lawsuit he filed Friday.
In the suit, Troxler asks the court to settle the race and declare a winner. He claims also the state board should be held in contempt for defying a court order.
A final decision in the race between Troxler, a Guilford County Republican, and incumbent Democrat Britt Cobb has been delayed due to a controversy involving 4,438 votes lost by a Carteret County voting machine.
The state board has tried and failed twice to settle the matter.
"We have lost our sense of humour," said Marshall Hurley, Troxler's lawyer. "There was just no legitimate effort to follow the court's order."
On Jan. 12, Judge James Spencer ordered the state board to hold a new hearing in the case. But 16 days later, no date for that hearing has been set.
"The judge didn't issue a suggestion or a request," Hurley fumed Friday afternoon. "It's an order."
When asked for comment, Don Wright, the board's general counsel, referred question to Deputy Attorney General Susan Nichols. Nichols referred questions to the Attorney General's press office, which did not return phone calls late Friday.
"We're just as anxious for the board to meet as he is," said Cobb spokesman Tim McKay.
Cobb has notified the state board that he would not appeal the judge's order remanding the case for review.
Since election officials discovered that votes had been lost on election night, the case has been the subject of a tangle of legal motions and hearings.
A court has twice rejected state board directives ordering new elections.
Cobb has urged patience the state board as it sorts out the election tangle. He was appointed to the job in 2003 after Democrat Meg Scott Phipps resigned over a campaign-finance scandal. She is in prison.
Because no winner has been decided, state law allows the incumbent - Cobb - to continue to serve as commissioner until the case is settled.
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Comments (2)
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Our governor wants Britt Cob to have the job of Agriculture commissioner. He is the king of N.C. what choice do we have.
Posted on February 3, 2005 8:19 AM
You know, I'm pretty sure grants of royal titles and authority are illegal in these parts.
As to whether Democrats want to keep Cobb or not, I get the distinct impression that their desire to have this whole episode ended has surpassed their desire to keep one candidate over the next.
Posted on February 3, 2005 11:16 AM