All in Politics
The County Commissioners met Monday morning and elected Linda Rouse Sutton as the Chair, and Eric Rouse as the Vice-Chairman. After swearing-in for new terms, including new Commissioner Chad Rouse, the board voted on the additional three days of vacation for county employees.
In the upcoming Lenoir County Commissioners meeting on Monday, there is a resolution to approve three additional days of vacation for county employees in 2021. The proposal in the agenda cites employee burnout as a real prospect in which they hope to avoid by approval of the resolution. The average daily payroll for county employees is $66,612.24. In 2020 the Board of Commissioners currently provides 14 paid holidays for county employees.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed a lower-court decision to enjoin North Carolina’s voter ID law and constitutional amendment. "Now that a federal appeals court has approved North Carolina's voter ID law and constitutional amendment, they must be implemented for the next election cycle in our state," NC House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) said.
On Wednesday State Auditor Beth Wood released the results of a performance audit at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI). The audit was of Coronavirus Relief Funds allocated to the DPI from the 2020 COVID-19 Recover Act. The objectives were to ensure that Coronavirus Relief Funds were spent in accordance with the 2020 COVID-19 Recovery Act and subsequent amendments as well as that the programs that received Coronavirus Relief Funds accomplished their intended purpose.
North Carolina General Assembly and the Cooper Administration are at odds over whether the Growing Rural Economies through Access to Technology (GREAT) Program is an eligible use of federal CARES Act money. Governor Cooper’s Press Secretary, US Rep. Greg Murphy and NC Senator Jim Perry all share their thoughts on the matter.
When the General Assembly reconvenes next year, State Rep. John Bell will serve a fourth term as House majority leader. The majority leader since 2016, Mount Olive native Bell resides in Goldsboro and represents portions of Wayne, Johnston, and Greene counties in House District 10. He defeated opponent Carl Martin in the 2020 November election.
A statewide recount is being held to determine the winner of the race for NC Supreme Court Chief Justice, after the initial count found only 406 votes separating the two candidates. Lenoir County will recount its votes Friday, while Jones and Greene Counties will hold recounts on Monday.
Lenoir County Board of Elections Director Steve Hines also provided Neuse News with the final numbers for the write-in campaign for the Lenoir County Board of Education. Michelle Cash received 6,485 votes, and Nancy Gilmore received 6,088 votes.
The North Carolina Federation of Republican Men (NCFRM) stands behind President Trump in holding the individual States accountable for a fair and just election. Voter integrity should be the top priority without compromise.
North Carolina elections officials wish to remind Election Day voters that it may take a few weeks before their “voter history” is updated to reflect their recent vote in their voter record available through the State Board of Elections’ Voter Search tool. The State Board of Elections and county boards of elections are inundated with questions from voters about whether their ballot was counted in the 2020 general election. In almost every single case, the answer will be yes.
From Nancy Gilmore, Write-in Candidate for Lenoir County Board of Education:
Thank you Lenoir County! I was overwhelmed with the response to the Write-In candidate campaign for Board of Education. Knowing that being a Write-In would be an uphill battle, I spent the 91 days (yes, that’s how long I had from filing for office until Election Day) in overdrive to get my name out. For a first time candidate, this was quite an undertaking and many would have never attempted it because of the obvious difficulty. But as I have always told my students, you never know if you don’t try!
Lenoir County Board of Commissioners (At Large): Chad (CJ) Rouse (R) and Linda Rouse Sutton (D)
Lenoir County Board of Commissioners District 3: June Cummings (D)
Lenoir County Board of Education: Bruce E. Hill (D), Merwyn K. Smith (D)
NC State House District 12: Chris Humphrey (R)
NC State Senate District 7: Jim Perry (R)
NC District Judge District 8 Seat 6: Annette W. Turik (R)
NC Senate, District 5: Don Davis (D)
NC House, District 10: John Bell (R)
NC District Court Judge, District 8, Seat 6: Annette Turik
Greene County Board of Education: Joey Rackley (R) and Brandon Johnson (R)
Greene County Board of Commissioners, District 2: Derek Burress (R)
Greene County Board of Commissioners, District 1: Buddy Shackleford (D)
Jones County Board of Education: Billy Griffin (R), Schumata Brown (R)
NC District Court Judge District 4 Seat 5: Robert H. Gilmore (R)
NC State Senate District 6: Michael A. Lazzara (R)
NC State House District 13: Patricia (Pat) McElraft (R)
Polling places will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3rd. Any voter in line at their assigned polling place at 7:30 p.m. will be able to vote. Following are the list of voting sites in Lenoir, Greene and Jones Counties.
Be sure to tune in to Facebook LIVE on Tuesday at 7:30 for our annual Election Night Results Show. www.facebook.com/neusenews
At the October 5th Kinston City Council meeting, the elected members unanimously approved two motions allowing city employees new vacation days for June 19 and Election Day. With roughly less than five minutes of discussion, both motions passed.
The City of Kinston has 378 positions on payroll and have about 350 positions filled at this time. Let’s assume all 350 are eligible to vote. If 70% take the time to vote, that will equate to approximately 245 employees exercising that right. Since 61.2% have already cast their ballots in our area, it would mean about 214 employees have already done so.
Based on historical numbers, the cost per vote on Election Day (31) is roughly $1,729, plus time and a half for our police, fire and other essential employees.
