Candidate hopes voters return for June 7 primary
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
Both the candidates
and the Forsyth County
Board of Elections are
preparing for another
South Ward primary on
they did vote, was an injus
tice and that needed to be
corrected," said Larson.' '
The treasurer of
Larson's campaign, Bill
Hoyt, is a lawyer and
helped him prepare his
protest. He also hired legal
council from the Raleigh
based Bailey & Dixon law
firm.
Highsmith, a retired
nurse and head of the
Konnoak Hills Community
Association, actually pre
pared her own argument
before the state board. She
crammed over the week
end on election law and her
argument involved voters
having the responsibility to
determine when they're
given the wrong ballot and
that the local board of elec
tions had certified the
results, saying the errors
were statistically insignifi
cant. She said the state
board had a low threshold
for electoral errors and that
she isn't upset with the rul
ing.
"I understand why they
made that decision," said
Highsmith. "We're ready
to keep going on to June
the 7th."
Forsyth BOE Director
Tim Tsujii said that the
new South Ward primary
will be added to the ballots
for the already planned
June 7 primary, which will
feature races for U.S.
House of Representatives
seats and a N.C. Supreme
Court seat. It will also be
included on a notice that
will be mailed to voters
about the June 7 primary.
He said that the BOE will
try to make sure the mis
takes don't happen again
through training and proce
dural changes.
The South Ward race
has been a surprisingly
close one. Larson, who
plans to retire from Old
Salem in December, was
asked by Leight and others
if he'd be interested in run
ning for the seat. He said
he decided to run because
he's interested in continu
ing to serve the communi
ty. Though it's his first
campaign, some on his vol
unteer campaign staff have
local political campaign
experience. He cam
paigned in a variety of
ways including mailers,
yanl signs, newspaper ads
and holding receptions.
Larson said he had
expected the primary to be
close because of
Highsmith's political expe
rience and notoriety in the
community, but is hoping
for a better outcome this
time.
Highsmith said she
became a community
advocate in 2007 because
of an increase in crime in
the South Ward. She
accepted requests to be a
write-in candidate for the
South Ward in 2009 as a
protest vote for the crime
in the area. She ran a cam
paign for the seat in 2013,
losing to incumbent Molly
Leight, an election she said
she learned from. She felt
Leight's retirement gave
her a fair shot at the seat, so
she gave it another try.
Highsmith also had mailers
and yard signs, but she said
newspaper ads were too
expensive for her cam
paign.
She felt where her cam
paign excelled at was
reaching voters by going
door-to-door and that her
message that she'll better
represent the ward resonat
ed. Highsmith has some
times worked with Leight
on issues like the South
Suburban Neighborhood
Plan. Though she's also
been on the other side, like
when the New South
Community Coalition,
which she's a part of, asked
for a "no frills" bond in
2014 devoted to just roads
and infrastructure, which
she said are in need of
more funds.
Highsmith said she'll
do her best to win again,
though she hopes with a
wider margin this time.
The winner of the
South Ward Democratic
primary will face
Republican Michael Tyler
in November.
June 7.
The N.C. Board of
Elections ruled on
Wednesday, April 6 that,
due to irregularities in the
South Ward Democratic
primary, the election for
that City Council seat will
be redone in the June 7 pri
mary. John Larson, who
was just six votes behind
his opponent, Carolyn
Highsmith, filed a protest
that involved incorrect bal
lots that were given to vot
ers. The local BOE eventu
ally found that 31 voters
received incorrect ballots
that didn't have the South
Ward race on it and 12 vot
ers cast ballots in the race
that shouldn't have. Due to
the tight deadline to get the
31 voters to recast their
ballot;, which would have
had to have been done by
the next day, and since it
wasn't possible to discount
those 12 ballots that
shouldn't have been cast,
the state board ruled for an
entirely new primary.
With incumbent Molly
Leight retiring from the
City Council and two can
didates vying to succeed
her, the turnout was high in
the original primary, with
4,052 votes cast in the
South Ward contest.
Larson, who is the vice
president of restoration at
Old Salem, said he hopes
those voters will return for
the new primary.
"I would hope that
those people also under
stand that the disenfran
chisement of their neigh
bors, of their friends who
wanted to vote and thought
April is Fair
Housing Month
SPECIAL TO THE
CHRONICLE
The city's annual obser
vance of Fair Housing
Month began Friday, April
1, when Council Member
Jeff Macintosh read a
proclamation by Mayor
Allen Joines during the
Fair Housing Month Kick
Off Luncheon at the
Winston-Salem Regional
Association of Realtors
Office.
Fair Housing Month
promotes the Federal Fair
Housing Act and its laws
against housing discrimina
tion. 2016 marks the 48th
anniversary of the signing
of the Fair Housing Act by
President Lyndon B.
Johnson in 1968.
Winston-Salem has a
fair housing ordinance that
mirrors the Fair Housing
Act. The Winston-Salem
Human Relations
Commission and Human
Relations Department are
responsible for enforcing
fair housing laws locally to
ensure fair and equal hous
ing access and treatment
for all people regardless of
race, color, national origin,
gender, disability, family
status, or religion.
The city's annual Fair
and Affordable Housing
Summit for housing profes
sionals will be held
Thursday, April 21, at
11:30 a.m. at the Benton
Convention Center, 301 W.
Fifth St. During the sum
mit, the New Horizons Fair
Housing Committee will
present its annual Breaking
Barriers Fair Housing
Award to Carol Davis, the
executive director of the
Simon G. Atkins
Community Development
Corporation. (
? Also, First Baptist
?
Church (Highland Ave.)
will host Project Homeless
Connect, sponsored by the
United Way of Forsyth
County and the U.S.
Department of Veteran
Affairs. It will be on April
15, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
To register or to volunteer
go to www.forsythunited
way.org and follow the
link.
For more information
call CityLink 311.
?
Dotes moy vary depending on program location
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Mu P es
NORTHWEST CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTERS
www m dpi snc.org
Locations
MudPles Coliseum
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336.602.1746
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336.448.0341
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622 North Main Street
Mocksville, NC 27028
336.751.5298
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SPACE IS M V
LIMITED^ %
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You may pick up your
registration forms at
either of our locations,
or print the registration
form from our website
{htfp://www.mudpiesnc.
org/parents, Jntake_
form.asp).
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