Filing for June 24 vote closes May 16
Staff Writer
Thursday, May 08, 2008
A Fourth Ward resident became the first to file for the June 24 special election to fill the vacant city council seat of former councilor Kirk Rivers.
Lennard N. Bartlett Sr., 64, of 405 Delaware Avenue, filed his candidacy Wednesday morning, according to Bonnie Godfrey, deputy director of elections for Pasquotank County.
There were no other first-day filers, she said.
Bartlett could not be reached for comment.
However, a former candidate for city council in previous 4th Ward elections praised Bartlett Wednesday and said she "wholeheartedly" supports him.
"I was excited when I heard that Lennard was interested in running for the 4th Ward seat," Ramona Gilbert said. "He is an intelligent man who has a genuine desire to serve the community. He and Volanda will bring peace, harmony and ethical representation to the Fourth Ward. I wholeheartedly support him."
Bartlett was referring to Councilwoman Volanda Watts, currently council's lone representative from the 4th Ward.
City Council set the election for June 24 after declaring Rivers' seat vacant three weeks ago. Council's decision was prompted by a ruling by the Pasquotank Board of Elections in March that Rivers is no longer a city resident.
Rivers, who has appealed the elections board's ruling, is eligible to run in the special election being held to replace him. That is possible because last week he changed his voter registration address to 706 Hampton Drive, which is in the 4th Ward.
Rivers has declined to say whether he will file for the special election. A hearing on his appeal of the elections board's ruling is scheduled to be heard in Pasquotank Superior Court on Monday.
The filing period for the special election continues through Friday, May 16. One-stop voting will start June 5, and a runoff election, if required, will be held July 22.
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Comments
By interested
May 10, 2008 12:35 PM | Link to this
this is to address sickntired... yes you really are sick and the 4th ward is tired of your big mouth and rascist attitude..do us all a favor and keep quiet for a change that would be the most intelligent thing that you had done in a long time..you must have been kicked in the head too many times...you and your buddy kirk are both EXACTLY what the 4the ward doesn't need or want you have truly been an embarassment to us
further more Volanda has done more on council than you have done in both terms combined you are just jealous she has lived up to her promise
to the people ...who elected her something you didn't do nor will you ever do...
go back and reminisce over your football days
and stay out of politics
you are not good at either but atleast stay out of politics
By The Shadow
May 9, 2008 4:13 PM | Link to this
Hey sick and tired I see where you signed up to run also. I know you and the River's land grab company will start trying to run down Bartlett any time now but it ain't going to work this time. This is an ethical man who doesn't have an agenda or is trying to make any money on the city, you guys need to crawl back under your rock and let the city be at peace with itself. Quit running Volanda down she has done more for the fourth ward than anyone in a long time, you are just mad she kicked your hindparts.
By SICKNTIRED
May 8, 2008 12:15 PM | Link to this
Volanda aint doing nothing but looking stupid and acting like the amateur that she is. Maybe she should just let Rich and Ramon have her seat since they do all of her talking. Or Maybe the good ole plummer boy will do better.
By cz
May 8, 2008 11:34 AM | Link to this
They also need to create a law that says once you've been kicked off you can't run again.
By what if...
May 8, 2008 8:02 AM | Link to this
What if Mr. Rivers fails to inhabit his new address by election time? What if he wins and 12 months later he still resides in the county and not EC? Shouldn't there be some concrete requirement that a candidate actually reside in the ward during the entire tenure? Let's not repeat what has occured over the recent past.
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