VOLUME 97 - NUMBER 42 DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2018 TELEPHONE (919) 682-2913 PRICE: 50 CENTS
^ Voteless People is a Hopeless People - L.E. Austin
Raudsep Versus Hawkins
Versus Webson For NC
House District 31
JIM HILL
CLAYTON JONES
Clayton Jones Versus Jim
Hill: Durham District Court
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
CashWorks Media
Editor’s note: With the all-im
portant Nov. 6th general election
just weeks away, The Carolina
Times reminds it’s readers about
the importance of voting in our
community.
By casting your ballot, YOU
will be choosing public servants
to represent your interests at
various levels of government,
and also to dispense justice in
our legal system. This election,
you will also be deciding on six
proposed state constitutional
amendments.
Study the issues and the can
didates, make your choices, and
then make the time, and take the
time to vote.
One-Stop Early Voting/
Same - Day Registration con
tinues now thru Nov. 3rd. Go to
https://www.dconc.gov/home/
showdocument?id=26112for the
schedule and location of early
voting sites in Durham County.
Unless you are registering
for the first time, no photo ID is
required. However, you should
have an official government doc
ument that displays your current
address, like a utility bill, with
you if you are registering to vote
for the first time, or have had a
change of address since you last
voted, during this early voting
period.
Tuesday, Nov. 6th is Election
Day. Polls countywide open at
6:30 a.m., and close at 7:30p.m.
District courts hear cases in
volving civil, criminal, juvenile,
and magistrate matters. District
courts are divided into 43 dis
tricts across the state and sit in
the county seat of each county.
JAMES T. HILL
James “Jim” T. Hill has been
a Durham District Court judge
since 2002, and the Chief Dis
trict Court judge of Durham
County since April 2017. Prior
to taking the bench. Hill was a
practicing attorney in Durham
for 25 years.
Born in Roxboro, but raised in
Durham County for most of his
life. Judge Hill has distinguished
himself not only for his fairness
in the courtroom, his supporters
say, but for knowing the law, and
deciding cases by the law.
So much so that even though
Judge Hill is a registered Repub
lican, many Democrats have no
problem endorsing his candidacy
for reelection.
“This is the only time in my
life I can not only urge you, but
beg you, to vote for this man,”
says family law Attorney Cheri
Patrick, Democrat, and a mem
ber of the LBGTQ community,
says in a campaign video.
Marlon West, director of 100
men in Black All-male chorus,
says Judge Hill has been a mem
ber for over five years, and loves
mentoring young men, doing
community service, and “has a
big passion” for prison ministry.
“I would strongly encourage
everyone to vote for him,” West
says in a campaign video.
Judge Hill has been endorsed
by The Weekly Independent and
the N.C. Association of Women
Attorneys Judicial Endorse
ments Committee.
However, Judge Hill’s re
cord on the bench isn’t without
a blemish.
On Nov. 6, 2015, that state
Supreme Court reprimanded
Judge Hill for his behavior dur
ing an August 7, 2014 custody
hearing where Hill threatened
two parents of a three-year-old
boy - RiShawna and Colin Mor
rison, with contempt of court.
On a widely seen court vid
eo, Judge Hill is seen and heard
calling the Morrisons “idiots” at
least three times, chastising them
for their alleged actions in front
of their son.
When Mrs. Morrison verbally
objected to Judge Hill’s allega
tion that she kept her son away
from his father, Hill threatened
her with what ended up being a
30 day sentence to the Durham
County jail - what Judge Hill
sarcastically called the “Durham
Bed and Breakfast.”
The scene eventually got out
of hand, with Mrs. Morrison de
fiantly protesting her treatment
as bailiffs rushed to restrain her.
She did not respond to a re
quest for comment left on her
voice mail from The Carolina
Times by press time.
The Judicial Standards Com
mission reviewed Judge Hill’s
actions, and ruled that he did
not follow the law on handling
disruptive courtroom behavior,
and should not have referred to
the Morrisons as ‘idiots” in the
courtroom, nor call the Durham
County jail a “bed and break
fast.” He was also procedurally
wrong in not only sentencing her
to jail for contempt, but factually
wrong in telling Mrs. Morrison
that she would stay until he de
cided she could be released.
Judge Hill admitted to, and
accepted the findings of the
Commission. The state Supreme
Court found that this was an iso
lated incident in Hill’s otherwise
good record on the bench. The
High Court added that he had “a
good reputation in the commu
nity.”
“I know voters will look
closely at the record and issues,”
Judge Hill says. “I know by the
end of this process we will have
informed Durham County voter
s about the issues. They can then
make the best decision through
this voting process, which will
continue through the Nov. 6
General Election.”
CLAYTON JONES
For the past two years, Clay
ton Jones has served as an as
sistant Durham County District
Attorney, prosecuting violent
crimes, managing a caseload of
more than 200 cases of robbery
and homicide.
Prior to that, Jones worked
as an assistant public defender,
working in criminal, family an
juvenile courts, protecting the le
gal rights of indigent defendants
on everything from drug charges
to homicides.
“In my fifteen years as an at
torney, I have served on both
sides of the bar,” Jones says. “I
understand the need for a bal
ance between keeping the public
safe while ensuring equal justice
for all.”
If elected, Jones promises
to show compassion to citizens
in his courtroom; accountabil
ity to the laws and constitution
of North Carolina; respect for
everyone in his courtroom; and
bring efficiency to the Durham
County court system.
By following those guide
lines, Jones says he will ensure
“equal justice for all” in his
courtroom, if elected to the Dur
ham District Court.
Clayton Jones is endorsed by
the Democratic Party; People’s
Alliance PAC; and Durham For
All.
Jones is a member of Phi Beta
Kappa; Omega Psi Phi Fraternity
Inc.; Prince Hall Mason Doric
Lodge 28; Zafa Temple 176; and
the 14th Judicial District Bar.
“My background, experience
and temperament will make me
an effective judge for Durham
County,” Clayton Jones adds.
GO TO
THE
POLLS
AND
VOTE!
ZACK HAWKINS ERIK RAUSEP
NAACP
Monthly
Meeting
The NAACP monthly meet
ing will be held Oct. 28, 4 p.m.,
at st. John’s Missionary Baptist
Church, 917 Onslow St.
The public is invited to attend,
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
CashWorks Media
The North Carolina House of
Representatives is a 120-member
elected representative body who
each serve two-year terms. The
House and the Senate comprise
the state legislature, otherwise
known as the NC General
Assembly.
Eric Raudsep, Torian Webson
and Zack Hawkins are vying for
the District 31 seat that former
longtime Rep. H.M. “Mickey”
Michaux Jr. just retired from.
ZACK HAWKINS
After twenty terms, veteran
state lawmaker Rep. H. M.
“Mickey” Michaux Jr. is
stepping down at the end of this
year from representing Durham
District 31 (normally we could
say he’s stepped down already,
but there is so much certainty
that Republicans are going to
call yet another special session
after the elections, it is safer to
assume that Michaux will be
there until December).
But making sure there’s no
confusion on where he stands,
or whom he stands with when
it comes to who he feels should
succeed him in office, Michaux
has endorsed Zach Forde-
Hawkins for the District 31 seat.
“Zack is the future and I
believe in his ability to fight for
our progressive values towards
building a better North Carolina
for everyone,” Michaux said
earlier this year. “He will be a
great member of the NC General
Assembly and will represent
Durham County well. He has my
full support and endorsement for
my seat in the NC House.”
A native of Beaufort County,
Hawkins, 39, has a long history
with the Democratic Party. He’s
served as chair of the North
Carolina Young Democrats in
2008, attended two Democratic
National Conventions as a
delegate, and is currently First
Vice Chair of the NC Democratic
Party.
Having attended both
Elizabeth City State University
and North Carolina Central
University, Hawkins once taught
at Southern High School in
Durham, and currently works in
student affairs at UNC-Chapel
Hill.
Education is Hawkins’
primary issue, he says, and if
elected, he would seek to sponsor
legislation to:
• Create a plan to
begin paying teachers at levels
comparable to top 10 states in
the country (by
population and teacher pay
scale)
• Increase per pupil
spending to levels comparable to
top 10 states in the country
• Students that graduate
in the top 10 percent of their class
should be guaranteed admission
into any UNC system school,
with competitive state-sponsored
scholarship to pay for their
education, based on need.
He also favors common sense
gun restrictions, and opposes tax
breaks for the
rich.
“Everyone deserves a
shot to contribute to our state,
receive a well funded and
affordable education, access to
affordable healthcare, have the
opportunity to raise a family with
ajob that pays a living wage, and
have a state government they can
trust and that serves their best
interest,” he says.
Hawkins is endorsed by
the Durham Committee on the
Affairs of Black People
; The Weekly Independent,
Equality NC Action Fund PAC
and National Organization of
Women.
ERIK RAUSEP
Small businessman Erik
Rausep moved to Durham from
Long Island, NY ten years ago,
and says, “I moved here for a
better life, and I found it.” A
home inspector by trade, Rausep
says he “was driven” to run for
office now “...because he sees
such inequity and indifference
from many leaders, especially
when finding communities like
McDougald Terrace, where Erik
has been active in making a
difference with organizations like
Bull City United, McDougald
Moms, and Men of Vision,”
according to his campaign bio.
As a libertarian, Rausep
firmly believes that “government
needs to get off of the back of
small business and foster their
development. “ He adds that big
corporations normally benefit
the most because they “...it is
the big projects that grab the
attention and the headlines.”
Thus, Rausep is a strong
proponent of small business.
He is also a member of the
LBGTQ community, would like
to adopt a child with his partner,
and “...does not want anyone
to lose the privilege that any
community or individual has,
however, he wants everyone to
have the same privilege to be
shared by all individuals. “
Being the son of a Russian
immigrant who escaped his
homeland for freedom, Rausep
“...firmly believes in the
necessity of opening up North
Carolina to be protective
(Continued On Page 3)
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