Elections offficials quash concerns
By John Joyce
Published in News on September 27, 2015 1:50 AM
The Wayne County Board of Elections said Wednesday that each candidate who has filed for the upcoming municipal races has complied 100 percent with state election laws.
Questions concerning the names and addresses of some of the candidates on their filing applications prompted a fact-check which resulted in findings that no wrongdoing had been committed.
First, Board of Elections specialist Ann Risku-Smith said candidates filing for races in Fremont filed under their residential addresses, despite the board publishing a register showing each candidate's address as a post office box.
"They all have residential addresses," Mrs. Risku-Smith said. "However, in Fremont, everyone gets their mail at a post office box."
The register the board published included the post office boxes when it was printed because those are the addresses to which the board sends correspondence.
Second, the issue of Goldsboro mayoral candidate Chuck Allen running under another name has been brought up in several public comment portions of recent Goldsboro City Council and Wayne County Board of Commissioners meetings.
Mrs. Risku-Smith said Allen is well within his right to campaign under the name he is commonly known as -- Chuck Allen -- although he filed under his given name, Lawrence Cobin Allen.
"Everything he has done is on the up-and-up," Mrs. Risku-Smith said. "He has done the nickname affidavit during filing. There is no issue with him."
Finally, Wayne County Board of Elections director Dane Beavers said Antonio Williams, running for Goldsboro City Council District 1, has also acted within the law. Questions concerning the legality of Williams having filed using a commercial address -- 143 N. Center St., a building Williams owns in downtown Goldsboro -- rather than his residential address of 304 Wilmington Ave. were raised.
"Both addresses are in the district," Beavers said.
Beavers said the law allows candidates to use either commercial or residential addresses when filing, but the public also has the right to question candidates' filing information.
"There were some inquiries made about his address," Beavers said. "The board does not investigate people's addresses."
He said Williams did recently switch his filing address to the residential address, but did not speculate as to why.
Williams, speaking at his downtown business, The Ice Storm, said he did not know why anyone would single him out or question his filing.
"I've done nothing illegal. I never left the district. I am still in the district," Williams said.