New Hanover Board of Elections Employee Decides Randy Can't Enter Wilmington City Council Race

Wednesday, August 6, 2003

Talked to the Director of the New Hanover Board of Elections by telephone and she said she was working on setting up a Preliminary Hearing with the Board of Elections members. I sent her a e-mail confirming our conversation and asking her a question or two and the e-mail came back to me undelivered. Guess I got the wrong e-mail address. Oh well. However she called me back around 3 PM and said the Preliminary Hearing was set for Friday 4 PM August 15, 2003. The filing deadline was noon August 1 and if the Board of Elections allows me to run for Wilmington City Council I will have lost 15 days of a total of 67 days before the October 7 election is held to my competition. Fifteen days seems like a long wait, 22 percent of the time, for a Preliminary Hearing since a friend had a work hearing like one day after a complaint. When the ballots are printed may even play a role in my case.

I got to thinking about this deal and unfortunately I am not very optimistic. Something like 70 percent of North Carolina's legislators run unopposed so our government really can do what ever in the heck it wants and there is nothing the people can do about it. We can moan and groan and go to court and put our bitches on web sites, but that is about it. A local guy goes to court recently, spent a lot of time and money pointing out the local Housing Authority is not paying a bit of attention to laws and does exactly what it wants to do, wins the case, and the Housing Authority which apparently has all kinds of taxpayer money and assets on the books, hires legal eagles and they get around laws designed to oversee taxpayer assets by PRIVATIZING taxpayer assets held in the Housing Authority.

Why are our young fine soldiers dying in Iraq? For this? A government which does not pay a bit of attention to the people and does exactly what it wants to do. Democracy. And what is Democracy in the USA? Of the people, By the people, For the People? Nope. The government does whatever in the heck it want's to do, screw the people. Who can change a government in which 70 percent of the elected officials run unopposed. A coincidence? Not to my mind. Some government behind the government is working very hard to make sure 70 percent of elected officials run unopposed and the government can do whatever it wants to do, provided the secrete elite gives its blessing.

I will hold back my opinions on my case until after the Preliminary Hearing, but what reason does anyone in government have in agreeing with me? Teach that BOS a lesson. He thinks he has rights? Please. Shut up. Go to work. Pay taxes. Quit complaining. Trouble makers are not allowed to run for office. And if you do run for office the Star News to belittle you to the point you are the laughing stock of the community.

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Probably the heart of this issue is the fact a New Hanover County Board of Election employee refused to accept my cash for the filing fee payment for me to enter the Wilmington City Council race. According to the following law she is required to accept cash for filing fees.

Legal Tender: A Definition

Section 102 of the Coinage Act of 1965 (Title 31 United States Code, Section 392) provides in part:

" All coins and currencies of the United States, regardless of when coined or issued, shall be legal tender for all debts, public and private, public charges, taxes, duties and dues."

This statute means that you have made a valid and legal offer of payment of your debt when you tender United States currency to your creditor. However, there is no Federal statute which mandates that private businesses must accept cash as a form of payment. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash unless there is a State law which says otherwise.

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