Reports of My Defeat Have Been Greatly Exaggerated: Run-Off December 29, 2015

If you read Sunday’s edition of the Hattiesburg American, you will notice there was another interview with Kent Crider. Within this article, Crider was saying there was no need for a run-off election because we all ran as independent candidates. When I started blogging, people started accusing me of saying things I didn’t say and that was because there’s a difference between reading and comprehension. Crider has served for 6 years as an elected official but he has no comprehension of the information he should have obtained as a 6 year elected official. When I went to city hall on Friday to get a copy of the voter signature sheet, I was given a copy of an Attorney General’s Opinion. After I got home, I realized that this was the opinion Crider and Merlene Wall was going to use in an attempt to declare Crider as the winner of the election. Unlike the elected and appointed officials that are currently serving during this administration, I have the ability to comprehend the information posted on the Mississippi Attorney General’s website.

Crider is citing Attorney General Opinion No. 2015-00345 in an attempt to have him declared the winner of the December 15, 2015 Special Election. In this opinion, it states the following: “Unlike municipal primaries there is no majority vote requirement to win a municipal general election. Therefore, there will be no runoff from the general election. Regardless of the number of candidates whose names appear on the general election ballot, the candidate that receives the most votes for a particular office is elected.” Crider also referenced the 2009 General Election when Miriam Holder had 263 votes to Albert Young’s 252 votes; the number of votes obtained by Strahan during that election was not disclosed in the interview. Crider, who in a previous interview, claimed he was going to resign on December 19, 2015 so he can start work as Mayor of Lumberton, is using an opinion and the results of a previous election in an attempt to be declared the winner. However, what Crider fails to realize is that the information he’s using does not apply to the recent election in Lumberton because the elections he’s using to prove his argument are general elections. The election on December 19, 2015 was a special election. Merlene Wall, Tommy Dukes, and Cora Rogers are lying, cheating and trying to steal an election for a candidate that has been on the board for 6 years but he’s too obtuse to understand the difference between a general election and special election.

Unlike Crider, I am aware that regardless of what Attorney General Opinion Crider submits, law secedes opinion. In accordance to the Mississippi Code Ann. 23-15-857 section b,

“the candidate receiving the majority of the votes cast in said election, the two (2) candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall have their names placed on the ballot for the election to be held (2) weeks thereafter.

As a matter of fact, the reporter of the Hattiesburg American also quoted Anna Moak, communications director with the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office as saying “In a municipal special election, a runoff is held two weeks after the first election if no candidate received the majority of the vote.” Moak also said

“No candidate received a majority vote. Griffith and Crider go to a runoff election on December 29, 2015.”

I don’t know about you, but I think an employee of the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office would know more about the election process than a six year alderman that obviously has not comprehension of the information he’s attempting to use to support his claim that there’s no need for a run-off. Crider can’t understand the simplicity of a clearly written opinion but for some reason, he think he’s essential for the City of Lumberton to obtain an airport grant. Maybe he’s more astute when it comes to the complicated issues surrounding grant applications. (Sarcasm intended.). Another thing, I’ve been reading/researching Attorney General Opinions for years and within each response there’s this line: “An official opinion from the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office does not validate or invalidate any past actions.” It’s clear that I’m the candidate that has the wherewithal to help Move The City of Lumberton Forward. We still have a chance to Take Back Our City. On December 29, 2015, help elect Jonathan F. Griffith as the Mayor of Lumberton.