Friday, Nov. 06, 2009

Protests filed after election hearing in Atlantic Beach

A hearing of challenged ballots in Atlantic Beach held Thursday booted one woman out of the winner's circle of Town Council candidates and leaves questions about who will ultimately sit on the council.

The two write-in candidates, Windy Price and Carolyn Cole, were named the winners in the election Thursday.

After Tuesday's election, incumbent councilwoman Charlene Taylor had the second largest number of votes, but after the commission voted to accept 28 of the 39 challenged ballots, most of which voted for both Price and Cole, Taylor came up short for the votes needed to win one of the two council seats.

Just hours after the announcement was made, the three Atlantic Beach Town Council candidates who lost in the election filed protests to the results that came out of the hearing held Thursday.

Paul Curry, Josephine Isom and Taylor say that the two write-in candidates who were named the winners in the election, Price and Cole, are not residents of Atlantic Beach and did not follow proper procedures in declaring their candidacy and in campaigning.

A hearing will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday for those who filed protests to express their concerns and for the election commission to decide how to proceed, town officials said.

State law says that until the process is resolved, the incumbents must stay in office, said Myrtle Beach attorney David Canty.

Price and Cole defeated the three candidates included on the ballot after 28 challenged ballots were counted despite objections to the voters' residency Thursday. .

Price received 64 votes, and Cole received 52 votes. Incumbents Taylor and Isom received 43 and 35 votes, respectively. Curry, the only challenger on the ballot, received five votes.

Taylor says she filed the protest because she believes Price is a resident of North Myrtle Beach, Cole is a resident of Florida, and Price's husband used a church bus to drive people who were not town residents to Conway during the last few weeks to submit absentee ballots after bribing them with food.

"It's just fraud, just fraud," Taylor said.

Price said she and her husband did nothing wrong in using a church van to transport voters.

"We allowed the Atlantic Beach voters to make their own decisions. No pressure was provided. I dismiss those claims of pressure put on any voters," she said. "It was just to provide transportation for those who chose to vote absentee."

Price and Cole say they have been living with suspended Mayor Retha Pierce, but Curry said he doesn't think that's the case."It's clear to me as a bona fide resident that the two individuals do not live in town, as evidenced by the fact that their cars are very rarely present at the place of residence."

Price dismisses the claims and said she's been harassed.

"I think it's just unfortunate that people would take the time and energy to do a witch hunt when there's nothing to hunt for," she said.

Also in Curry's protest is the complaint that Price and Cole did not file an economic interest form within 15 days of becoming write-in candidates, which is required by state law.

Cole could not be reached for comment.

After Thursday's hearing, Cole said that she intended to keep a low profile after she returned to Atlantic Beach in August, but after resident Patricia Bellamy was not allowed to be on the ballot, residents requested that she be a write-in candidate.

Bellamy was removed after the election committee discovered she had been found guilty of forgery, which is a felony. The state election laws require that a person be pardoned under state or federal law, or that 15 years or more pass after the person completes the sentence.

Price and Cole's ballots were among those challenged during the hearing because of their residency.

If the decision is upheld that Cole and Price are the winners of this week's election, Taylor will remain in the position through her current term this year, and council members will have to select a new substitute for Pierce.