Race for the bench: Jones takes first place
By Steve Herring
Published in News on March 16, 2016 1:46 PM
Arnold O. Jones
Will Bland
District 8-B Superior Court Judge Arnold O. Jones easily swept into first place in Tuesday's primary despite campaigning under the cloud of a federal bribery indictment.
Jones, who received 10,160 votes (43.78 percent), said he is looking forward to the momentum carrying him into November and re-election to another eight-year term.
It was a tighter race for second place and a chance to face Jones in the November general election with Goldsboro attorney Will Bland defeating former Superior Court Judge Jerry Braswell 7,270 votes (31.33 percent) to 5,777 (24.89 percent).
Judicial races are nonpartisan.
Vote totals are unofficial until the county canvass at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, March 22, at the Wayne County Board of Elections Office, 209 S. William St.
"First of all I need to make sure is that the first thing I say is that my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ gets the credit for this win," Jones, 50, of Pikeville said. "There is no doubt about it.
"The second thing is this shows the confidence the people of Wayne County really have in me as their judge. This resounds that Wayne County wants Arnie Jones on the bench. That is where I need to be, and that is where I want to be, and that is what this election is all about."
Jones said he has so many supporters, family, friends and people he has met during the campaign.
It has, he said, been an "incredible journey" so far, he said.
"The response I am getting around the county is the thing that I have been saying -- the confidence in me as a judge, the decisions I have made over the past seven years, the way I treat people in the community, the way I treat people in the courtroom," he said.
"This speaks volumes about all of that. People who know Arnie Jones know my character, and what I stand for, and what I will stand for, and that is what this whole election was about."
In November, Jones was charged with promising to pay a bribe to a public official, promising and paying a gratuity to a public official and corruptly attempting to influence an official proceeding.
According to the indictment, Jones asked the officer to illegally obtain text messages exchanged between two cell phone numbers in return for cases of beer and $100.
Jones, who has denied any wrongdoing, said he is limited in what he could say about the case that has yet to go to trial.
While that has been a concern, Jones said that what the voters said is that they feel much more positive about him than anything negative.
Bland said he was very pleased with the election results.
"In a little more than two months of hard work, we have created very positive momentum," he said. "For that I thank the many friends and supporters who have helped so much these past weeks. You all are wonderful -- I simply cannot thank you enough.
"The November campaign begins now, and we have much to do in the next eight months. Well over half of the voters in this election expressed their desire to see a change in the Superior Court. With your help, I look forward to continuing our efforts to restore confidence in the Wayne County Superior Court."
Bland said it has been a "great pleasure" talking with and listening to people throughout Wayne County.
"I want to compliment my fellow candidates for a good and vigorous campaign," he said. "I have enjoyed being on the campaign trail with them and their supporters.
"I look forward to more conversations with voters across the county in the months to come. Thanks to all the voters in this election. I welcome your support in November."
Braswell called it a "very lively campaign."
"I think the voters, we had a good turnout at the polls, and that is always good," he said. "I will continue practicing law and stay in my status as a retired Superior Court judge."
Braswell, 63, said he doesn't think he would make another run for the bench in the future.
"I was encouraged to run for the position," he said. "I had some trepidation initially. No one else had come forth, and I was concerned about the status of the court system. So at the time I had filed no one else had come forth to run. Had there been some other candidates that had filed, seriously, I might not have filed."
Jones is a 1983 graduate of Charles B. Aycock High School in Pikeville. He received a business degree from UNC at Chapel Hill in 1986 and his law degree from Wake Forest University in 1989.
He returned to Goldsboro where he practiced law for 17 and a half years before being elected as Superior Court judge in 2008.
Jones, son of the late Judge Arnold Jones, is a member of Stoney Creek Free Will Baptist Church, where he is a deacon and has taught Sunday school for more than 20 years.
He has three children.
Bland, 55, is a former assistant district attorney now in private practice
A Goldsboro native and graduate of Wayne Country Day School, Bland received his undergraduate degree from Duke University and his law degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
He also earned a master's in accounting from the Kenan-Flagler Business School in Chapel Hill.
Bland is the son of the late attorney W. Powell Bland and the grandson of county Judge David H. Bland.
He has been married for 19 years to his wife, Ellen. They have two children. The Blands are active members of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church.