Evelyn
Crawford
Wins
Mother Of The
Year Contest
Lifestyles Page IB
An Emerging Class Of Community Leaders
Business/Page 2A
Gimme Shelter: Concert For The Homeless
Entertainment/Page 1C
Cljarlotte
"The Voice Of The Block Community'
Volume 13, Number 49
Thursday, May 5, 1988
Price: 50 Cents
Walton, Majeed In For Runoff
I
Photo By TONY WHITE
School board candidate Arthur Griffin watches election returns
along with his wife.
School Board
Incumbents Out
By HERB WHITE
Post Staff Writer
Tuesday wasn't a good time to
be an incumbent on the Char-
lotte-Mecklenburg School
Board.
Only one lncumbent--Jane
McIntyre—was returned to the
board outright In the non
partisan election. She led the
14-candldate field with 20,887
votes, easily outdistancing Wil
liam Rikard and Joe Martin,
who finished with 17,997 and
17,529 respectively.
After the top three, the field
was bunched with a May 31 run
off likely.
Board chairman Carrie Win
ter, Arthur Griffin, Jan Rich
ards and Linda Clement fin
ished fourth through seventh in
the balloting.
Less than 1,000 votes separat
ed them and both Richards and
Clement have said they will ask
for a runoff.
Winter had 14,565 votes, Grif
fin 14,410, Richards 13,669 and
Clement 13,642.
Incumbents Don Austin and
Sarah Stevenson, who served a
combined 16 years on the board,
lost in their reelectlon bids.
Stevenson finished ninth with
9,826 votes while Austin was
tenth with 9,634.
Normally a low-key election,
this year's school board race was
viewed as a referendum on the
performance of the state's larg
est school system.
Parents--black and white--
expressed concern about the
board's seeming Indifference in
dealing with inequalities in edu
cation and long bus rides.
Richards made the elimina
tion of busing a prime issue in
her campaign, while other can
didates supported shortening
bus rides or easing the burden of
busing black students face.
Judging by the results, voters
weren't very happy with the
board.
See Griffin On Page 2A
By HERB WHITE
Post Staff Writer
After four months of cam
paigning, incumbent county
commissioner Bob Walton and
Nasif Majeed face the possibility
of a runoff for the District 2
seat.
Witli all 25 precincts report
ing, Majeed, Walton's top chal
lenger, led the field with 5,669
votes to Walton’s 5,463 and
James Baldwin's 410.
Although Majeed led, he fell
103 votes shy of the 51 percent
majority i-equired to win out
right. His total translated into
49 percent of the votes cast: Wal
ton had about 47 and Baldwin
roughly four.
According to state law, Walton
has until Monday to file for a
runoff, which would be held May
31. Walton has not said whether
he would ask for one.
Entering the Grady Cole Center
in a warmup suit that sported
several campaign buttons, Ma
jeed was greeted by supporters
and reporters.
"Ma-jeeeed! Ma-jeeeed!." sup
porters shouted in unison. But
as the returns came In, Majeed
realized that a runoff was a defi
nite possibility. .
Majeed said his showing,
while not decisive, was Impres
sive, especially against Walton.
'We’ve done well against a per
son with 10 years as an incum
bent," he said. "In.a short period
of time, comparably speaking,
we've done better."
If Walton decides for a runoff,
the issues will probably remain
the same. The key to winning
then would be organization, said
Mecklenburg Elections Super
visor Bill Culp.
"The question will be which
candidate can effectively turn
out their voters on May 31," he
said.
Majeed took 15 of 25 precincts
while Walton took the remain
der. Baldwin, who ran as the al
ternative to both candidates, si
phoned off enough votes to make
a runoff possible.
Majeed said (hat although
Baldwin has criticized him dur
ing the campaign, they have a
good relationship and would try
to get his support for the runoff.
NAACP Member Sues Mecklenburg Co,
Mary Clarke, President of the
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Co.
Brandi of the NAACP, recenlly
announced that the Charlolle
Branch had contributed $1,000
to the defense fund of long-time
branch member and organiza
tion Vice President, Valorie
Woodard.
Woodard will this week file a
$1 million civil action against
the Mecklenburg Co. Depart
ment of Social Services and tlie
County Commission for viola
tions of her First and Four
teenth Amendment rights under
the United States Constitution.
Woodard alleges in her suit
that because of her "active" and
"vocal" participation in tlie
NAACP, she. was denied promo
tion more than 50 limes prior to
1984; that after slie was granted
a temporaiy promotion man
agement at the Department of
Social Services attempted to
dismiss her through the vehicle
of inaccurate performance re-
Woodard
views; that after being unable to
sustain tlie inaccurate perfor
mance evaluation, they singled
her out tor a demotion into a
lower paying position througli
the vehicle of "re-classification"
and attempted to cause her res
ignation through "unfair" Job
performance evaluations tliat
denied her earned merit raises.
Kelly M. Alexander, Jr., I’resi-
dent of the North Carolina
Chapters of the NAACP said,
"The time is long past wlien we
can tolerate employers violating
the constitutional right of every
citizen to freely associate in or
ganizations of their choice. The
NAACP is a respected civic and
civil rights organizalion that
has been active in the Charlotte
community since the 1920's.
"I have asked the NAACP Na
tional General Counsel, Grover
Hankins, to work closely with
Mrs. Woodard's attorney, Mike
Sheely to correct the wrongs
that she has suffered. Cases like
Valorie Woodard’s illustrate
why Mecklenburg Co. needs a
Minority Affairs Gffice; a strong
Affirmative Action plan and an
independent EEC Administra
tor."
N.C. Teachers Paid Less Than Average
North Carolina lost ground on
the nation in terms of teacher
salaries this year, despite the
five percent increase granted by
the 19S7 General Assembly, Ihe
president of Ihe North Carolina
Association of Educators said
today.
"It Just shows what we have
been saying," Gladys Graves,
NCAE president, added, "If we
want to attract and keep the
best young people in our class
rooms, we have to run fast Just
to keep up with the nation."
Graves said that North Caroli
na ranks 29th this year in aver
age teacher salary, down horn
28th last year despite the fact
that (he average salary paid in
North Carolina increased from
$23,879 in 1987 to $25,073 this
year.
"What that says to us is that
the nation is also trying to im
prove teacher salaries and that
they are doing a better Job than
we are doing," Graves said.
She said that North Carolina
did make some progress in per
pupil e.\penditures, going from a
ranking of 30th a year ago to a
ranking of 26th this year.
lhat is basically because ot
our investment in (he Basic Ed
ucation Program which is put
ting more money and more jier-
sonnel in our schools," Graves
said.
Southern states ranking lower
than Noilh Carolina in average
teacher salaries include Ken
tucky ($24,274), South Carolina
($24,241), Tennessee ($23,785)
Alabama ($23,320), Louisiana’
($20,885), Mississippi ($20,669),
and Arkansas ($20,340). South
Dakota ranks last in average
teacher salary at $19,750. Alas
ka ranks first in average salaiy
with $40,424 followed by the
District of Columbia at $36,465.
Graves said NCAE will ask the
short session of the General As
sembly to approve a 12 percent
increase in salaiy for North
Carolina teachers, a move
which, if successful, "would
move the stare up in the salaiy
rankings by a few spaces." She
said NCAE feels the nation will
move teacher salaries up at
something around 10 percent
this year.
NCAE's goal is a salaiy sched
ule for teachers which begins at
$20,000 and reaches to at least
$40,000.
V ’
I'hoto By FRANK J. WILUAMS
County Commission candidate Nasif Majeed accepts congratulations Tuesday dining election returns at
the Grady Cole Center.
"I'm very pleased with the out
come," he said as the returns
were slowly winding down.
"What are we ahead by, 250
votes?"
"We've had a good relationship
with him during the campaign,"
he said. "And if there's a runoff,
we'll certainly ask him to work
with us."
Roosevelt Gardner, the Repub
lican who will face the Demo
cratic nominee in November,
was on hand to watch the re
turns. He said he would prefer to
face Majeed, whom he said could
be vulnerable after a tough pri
mary.
The coalitions lhat make up
westside politics is undergoing a
change which he believes can
help him in the general election.
"It'll make the preachers real
ize how much their power has
eroded over the past two years."
The campaign has been domi-
Sce Runoff On Pa^ 2A
Photo hj CALVIN PEROU&ON
Incumbent county commissioner Bob Walton talks to reporters after
the primary.
Unbowed, Jackson Forges On In
Pursuit Of Democratic Victory
By Chester A. Higgins, Sr.
NNPA News Editor
Jesse L. Jackson's phenomen
al race for the Democratic Pres
idential nomination, slowed
somewhat by New York and
Pennsylvania primaiy setbacks,
won’t materially affect his im
pact on the Democralic Nation
al Convention, in Atlanta, In
fact, according to Ron Wallers, a
1984 deputy chairman for is
sues in (he Jackson campaign,
even if Jackson fails to win an
other state caucus or primaiy,
he will arrive at dial convention
Willi a consideraljlc amount of
clout in delegate and voter sup
port strengtli.
So this leads to all kinds of
speculation, much of it still be
ing kicked around like a Nation
al Football League pigskin in
pundit columns and on 'IV/
radio talking heads shows. The
what Will Jesse want? pliant
has taken over from lhat other
neivous query', what does Jesse
want?
Speculation that Jackson
might accept a place on the
Democratic ticket as vice presi
dent (he constantly e.xpresses
disdain for tliis office saying it
only involves a vote to break a
Senate tie), or become the na
tion's drug czar or some kind of
an ambassador plenipotentiary,
any of which he may be temper
amentally unsuited for or, in the
case of 'Vice President, add to
"the discomfort level" of the front
runner, is Just that -- so much
speculation.
According to Walters, a pro
fessor of political science at Ho
ward University, Jackson's con
siderable leverage --both
backward and fonvard-- should
be used at the convention to
bring three things to the bar-
Jesse Jackson and Bruce Lightner confer during the North Carolina
campaign.
gaining table: the Mondale campaign, Walters
1.) A stronger role for blacks said. Mondale ignored Jackson
within the campaign structure, and Blacks and although Jack-
and greater resources to son campaigned for the ticket,
enable Jackson and his Rain- he did not receive a plan to
bow supporters to help get out a „ . ,
big Democratic vote (During J“=kso" ^
Inside This Week
District 2Recap Entertainment...Pq. 1C
See page 6A Monster Jazz Jam
Editorials Pq.SA
Sports Pq. IB
Lifestyles Pg 1 B Magic Johnson Spins Karate
Evelyn Crawford is Mother of
ilwYear Classifieds Pg.SD
Church News Pq.5B
Beulah Bell Boys Choir at Tryon Leadership Charlotte
Presbyterian see page 2A