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Vol. 83, No. 82
SG referenda
approved in
scant turnout
Students voted by a 5-1 margin to adopt
the two proposed Campus Governing
Council constitutional amendments in
Wednesday's campus referendum.
Voters also indicated their approval of the
new lottery registration system.
Write-in balloting for the Off-campus
District 1 CGC . representative will be
determined by Monday, Brooke Bynum,
Elections Board chairperson said. The tally
shows that Bill Ripley received 1 1 votes, Don
Baer eight, and ten other write-in candidates
received one vote each.
An amendment prohibiting co
representation in CGC seats was approved,
520-128. A second amendment clarifying
constitutional language in regard to
graduate district apportionment passed,
435-176.
Voters approved of the lottery registration
system, 475-195.
Turnout was heaviest in James dormitory,
which has co-representatives in CGC. James
voted 121-47 in favor of co-representation.
James Co-rep. Brad Lamb said, "I'm in favor
of co-representation. 1 think George and I
have done a good job, or tried to."
The other James co-representative,
George Bacso, said, "1 don't care how the
vote turns out because 1 want absolutely
positively, completely and totally nothing to
do with CGC ever again in my life."
"At least without co-representatives not
more than one person will have to waste their
time with CGC and this will also keep the
number of fools on CGC to a minimum."
Employees dissatisfied with proposed contract
by Laura Seism
V Staff Writor
Universjjty telephone. employees - are
not satisfied with a Southern Bell
contract recommended to the UNC
Board of Trustees in October, an
employee spokesperson said
Wednesday.
The employees' two major complaints
concern the pay scale and retirement
program they will . be offered by
Southern Bell if the sale of the'
University telephone system is
approved, said Berry Roberson, a
telephone service supervisor and a
member of the now dissolved
Committee of Concerned Employees,
which originated in opposition to the
utilities sale.
Although University Utilities
Director Grey Culbreth said the
telephone workers will receive benefits
from Bell equal to or better than those
they now receive from the University,
Roberson said some people,
particularly long-term employees of the
University, would be better off
remaining with the University.
Southern Bell requires 15 years of
A News Analysis
by Nancy Mattox
and Chris Fuller
Staff Writers
Within several weeks, campus-wide
campaigns for Student Body President,
Daily Tar Heel editor and Campus
Governing Council representatives will
begin.
As in past years, the campaigning will take
place under the auspices of an elections law
many Student Government officials and
former candidates called vague and largely
unenforceable.
The election laws "only keep honest
people within the realm of the law," Elliot
Warnock, former candidate for DTH editor,
told the Campus Governing Council Rules
and J udiciary Committee at a public hearing
Sunday. Warnock added that dishonest
candidates can get around it.
Brooke Bynum, Elections Board
, chairperson, said Wednesday, "They (CGC)
really need to scrap the present election laws
and start all over."
The laws as they stand now are full of
loopholes and inconsistencies. 1
A major complaint voiced by Attorney
General Andromeda Monroe is that the
number of polling places (2 1 ) is too many for
the elections board to efficiently manage.
With the present established polling
places, the Elections Board would need
approximately 250 poll tenders to be
stationed throughout Election Day at
designated positions, Bynum said. Bynum
also said a present law which requires the
Elections Board chairperson to visit each
polling place every hour is a "physical
r
service before retirement, and Roberson
said that means some University
employees would have to wait until age
62 m retire
Roberson estimated that of the 1 70
telephone employees, approximately 10
have had between 20 and 30 years of
service with the University, while
approximately "20 have had 15 to 20
years and two or three have had almost
27 years of service. He emphasized,
however, that these were rough
estimates.
John Temple, UNC assistant vice
chancellor in charge of business, said
that University employees would not
lose anything by going with Bell because
the money they have contributed to
their state retirement fund will be
returned.
In addition, Temple noted that Bell
has agreed to waive its requirement for
15 years of service before retirement in
cases where age so necessitates;
State employees contribute six per
cent of their salaries to their retirement
fund, and Roberson suggested the state
legislature enact a law allowing
telephone workers to continue this input
and receive state retirement benefits
impossibility."
Student Body President Bill Bates said,
however, that he would like to see the
addition of at least one more polling place.
This new poll. Bates suggested, could
possibly be established in the public health
or pharmacy buildings.
Under the present election laws, the only
qualification for a poll tender is that the
tender cannot be a candidate in the district in
which he is working. Thus candidates for one
CGC district may tend polls in another
district. In addition candidates' campaign
workers as well as individuals who have
publicly supported or endorsed a candidate
may also tend polls or count ballots for the
election. Several CGC members, for
example, have often counted ballots at
elections held this year. ;
Monroe believes this law should be
changed. Poll tenders should have no
political affiliation, should not have
campaigned for any candidate, and should
not be either supporting a candidate publicly
or be candidates .themselves, she said.
Bates said that in last year's election he
provided informational bulletins to all his
campaign workers informing them of the
duties of a poll tender. But at least some poll
tenders remained confused about their
duties. Bates cited an incident in which one
student voted three times in three different
districts because poll tenders did not mark
the students I. D. card, as required.
Monroe also cited several cases in which
elections were appealed because polls were
closed too early, giving what she called a
"possible disadvantage to one candidate."
Under Student Government law, the polls
must be open from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. The
Servrn A, smcen, and the University community since 1893
sruuna,
even after the utility sakj
But Temple said the state does not
allow an employee not working for the
state,. to maintain,, a , .state, jtirement
fund, and added that, "It's unrealistic to
think that the legislature would change
(this policy). It would set a precedent
that would be hard to manage in the
future."
With regard to other seniority
benefits, however, Bell has agreed to
recognize years of service accumulated
with the University, Temple said.
For example, a University employee
with six years of service will receive the
same vacation received by a Bell
employee with six years of service. Sick
leave policy will also work this way, he
said.
Although Southern Bell has agreed to
pay University telephone workers more
than they will be receiving at the time of
the sale, Roberson said that some
University employees with 10 years
experience will be paid less than Bell
workers with only five years of service.
He explained that this is because a
Bell employee with five years of
experience is in a higher pay
classification than a University
polling hours may be extended only with the
approval of the Attorney General and the
Chief Justice of the Student Supreme Court.
Though many court suits have been filed in
the last few elections charging violations of
this provision, Monroe said she has never
y
been consulted and would like to see the law
more strictly enforced.
The election laws appear to be largely
unenforceable. According to the law, "It
shall be an honor code offense for anyone to
deface, destroy, alter or otherwise change
any candidate's campaign materials before
the election."
Unless a person is caught in the act of
destroying materials, prosecution is highly
unlikely.
Although the law prohibits the use of
Student Government funds on behalf of a
candidate, this section of the law is also
unenforceable. For example, it would be
hard to prove if someone used Student
Government typewriters, Bynum said.
9 , v j
Oil 8 0 10. 1 3
inursday,
by Merton Vance
Staff Writer
Carrboro Alderman George Beswick has
threatened to boycott future board meetings
if they do not become better organized.
"I will go to one more meeting and if it is
not handled with some dignity and order 1
will not go back," he said Wednesday.
Beswick said he is upset over the handling
of a Jan. 14 public hearing on the proposed
Carr Mill which resulted in confusion and
flaring tempers. The hearing was called to
hear public comments on the proposal to
turn the town's old textile mill into a
shopping mall.
Beswick said he is not complaining about
the issues before the board but rather about
the way in which the board conducted the.
meeting. He blamed procedural problems
for the confusion at the meeting, at which
testimony was frequently interrupted and
some citizens became angered.
"Personally and professionally I don't
want to be associated with that kind of
conduct," Beswick said.
Beswick recently began his law practice in
Carrboro and said his association with what
he termed chaotic actions on the board could
employee with 10 years of service.
However, he said that if the
University telephone workers' salaries
are re-evaluated and raised again before
the sale, the"" pay "problem would be
alleviated.
University telephone workers will
also forfeit accumulated sick leave if
they become Bell employees, Roberson
said. He also noted that Southern Bell
does not allow its employees to
accumulate sick leave over a period of
years as the University does.
"There were some bad feelings about
this (loss of a accumulated leave), but
we're going to lose it so we might as well
forget it," he said.
"Most employees wish the University
would just do something one way or the
other (about the sale) and get it over
with," Roberson said, noting that the
sale has been discussed for the past six
or seven years.
Temple said Wednesday that the
earliest the sale could be approved is
nine months from now. It must be
approved by the Board of Trustees, the
N.C. Council of State, the State
Utilities Commission and the Federal
Communications Commission.
Also difficult to enforce is a provision
requiring that signatures on the petition of a
candidate filing for office must come from
persons living in the area he wishes to
represent. Because of the short time between
the filing date and the election, it is
"They (CGC) really need
to scrap the present
election laws and start all
over."
Brooke Bynum
Elections Board
Chairperson
impossible to check every signature, Bynum
Another aspect of election laws equally
hard to enforce involves the campaign
spending limits.
Act 3. Sec. 4 of the spending laws read,"lf
goods or services are given gratuitously or
excessively below normal cost, the Elections
Board Chairman shall go to at least three
firms that make like products and servjees
and get estimates. The average cost shall be
deemed the actual cost."
This section of the law raises several
questions concerning the law's
interpretation. . .
Monroe called this provision unfair,
saying, "If candidates can get more for less,.
a
crmcize
be damaging to his career.
; He has served on the Carrboro board since
1973. He is one of four aldermen
sympathetic to the liberally oriented
Carrboro Coalition.
Alderman Ernie Patterson said
Wednesday he thinks Beswick is frustrated
by some procedural and organizational
problems that have accompanied the
installment of three recently elected
aldermen.
Patterson said such problems can be
expected with any newly-elected governing
body but hopes most of the board's
procedural difficulties will be resolved at a
Friday work session meeting of the aldermen
and Carrboro Mayor Ruth West.
Alderman Bob Drakeford said it would be
"very disturbing personally" if Beswick
follows through with his boycott. Drakeford
said Beswick's legal expertise could be
valuable to the board.
The board heard complaints from citizens
at the Jan. 14 meeting that the Carr Mill
construction requests did not comply with
town ordinances.
Beswick complained that there was no
i
m
9
To find out why all these people are
gathered together and what they are
watching, see page 4.
that should be their right." She explained
that many candidates are not financially
independent enough to be able to afford an
even average price, and said candidates
should have the right to find bargains.
Harriet Sugar and Don Baer, candidates
for co-editor of the DTH last year, were
accused of violating this section of the law by
printing a pamphlet at an out-of-town press
owned by a family friend. Sugar said they
had received nothing gratuitously, and that
even though the price of the pamphlet was
far below those of local printers, any
candidate could have received the same
price.
Cole Campbell. DTH editor, said at the
public hearing that technical ability of
individuals must also be considered when
considering this section of the law.
Campbell pointed out that several
candidates saved money through the use of
personal skills or the skills of friends. He
cited as examples expertise in such areas as
art and photography (campaign pictures)
and composition techniques (putting
together pamphlets).
A campaign spending report, including
receipts over $5 must, by law, be filed a week
after the election. This law does not have
much effect, however, because the penalty
for exceeding the campaign spending limit is
simply a fine amounting to half the excess
over the limit.
The receipts likewise are insignificant
since, Campbell said at the public hearing,
dishonest printers can forge receipts.
In fact, the effectiveness of the campaign
spending limits is also being questioned.
Warnock said at the public hearing that he
had little respect for the campaign spending
Yealhen partly cloudy
o tf
J f m C
reason for a large number of people to bring
this issue before the board. "Twenty-five
people saying the same thing is not
productive," Beswick said.
Most town citizens appear to favor the
mall project with certain conditions imposed
on it, Beswick said.
He said he fears that if the project is
further delayed, the developer may become
frustrated and null out of the project. The
developer, a Charlotte real estate agent,
needs to find out what kinds of conditions
the town wants to place on the proposed
mall's construction.
There was apparently some
misunderstanding about the nature of the
public hearing, Patterson said. Such a
hearing should allow the public to present
evidence for the aldermen to review. The
board will then vote on the issue, he said.
This process should define the terms of a
conditional use permit for the mall project,
Patterson said.
He said - that the public apparently
misunderstood the purpose of such a hearing
and thought the board would decide the
matter at the Jan. 14 meeting.
Poole named
planning board
chairperson
In a surprise move by Carrboro Mayor
Ruth West. Mack Poole has been appointed
as the new chairperson of the Carrboro
Planning Board. Poole replaces Don
- WillhoiW-wfio- has held the.posl.tor the pa&i
two years. ' '
West made the appointment Friday after
stating that Willhoit's term had expired.
But Willhoit said his replacement came as
a surprise to him and that he did not learn of
the move until he received a letter from West
Saturday.
Willhoit will remain a member of the
board.
Poole, a former alderman, was already a
member of the Planning Board before being
appointed chairperson.
West said she appointed a new
chairperson because she thinks the position
should be rotated among board members.
Alderman Bob Drakeford said the move
was untimely since the Planning Board is
currently discussing plans to build a new
shopping mall on the site of the town's old
textile mill.
"This is a bad time to change horses."
Drakeford said.
Willhoit, however, said he does not think
the board's work on the mall project will be
drastically disrupted by the change.
Poole could not be reached for comment
Wednesday.
law. and accused the judiciary of being lax in
its investigation of violations.
Warnock also said that if a person has a lot
of money to spend he can spend it by paying
the rather low fine. It is an almost legal way
to circumvent the law. he said.
The number of signatures required on a
petition and the necessity of a petition are
also major points of contention in the
election laws.
Warnock said the petition is nothing but
an irritant because he believes it decreases
the number of people running. Baer agreed
saying the petition should be eliminated.
Campbell is in favor of keeping the
petition. He said the petition proves some
desire on the part of thecandidates to run for
the office, and at the same time, limits the
number of people in the race.
Although the date of the runoff election
was recently changed, the former date
caused considerable dispute. Under the old
law, the runoff was held the second
Wednesday after the initial election unless
that day fell during a vacation. The law was
recently changed so that the election is now
held the first Wednesday of the first full w eek
of classes following the initial election.
Under the old law campaigns for runoff
elections could last longer than the initial
election campaign. Sugar said the time span
for the election is entirely too long since it
makes a two-month campaign possible.
However, Bynum said that moving up the
runoff creates- a hardship in getting the
ballots printed up. It also places pressure on
the courts since candidates frequently file
court suits in attempts to get into the runoff.