THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 17, 1995 TAG: 9503170567
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
A 16-month legal battle over a seat on the Manteo Board of Commissioners may finally be settled in Dare County Superior Court.
Dellerva Collins filed a complaint late last month, asking the court to require Rocky Midgette to step down from the board.
The court will be asked to decide whether Collins or Midgette will sit on the town's seven-member governing board.
Last December, the North Carolina Court of Civil Appeals ruled in Collins' favor, yet Midgette remains on the board.
Collins, with 185 votes, trailed Edward Etheridge and Lee Tugwell in a four-candidate field in the November 1993 municipal elections. Midgette, a write-in candidate, received 162 votes, and finished fourth in the race for three seats.
Midgette challenged the election results and claimed that 41 write-in ballots - 36 that were blank and five with ``Rocky'' or ``Midgette'' - should be counted in his favor.
On Nov. 13, the Dare County Board of Elections ruled against him. But an appeal to the state Board of Elections resulted in Midgette's placement on the board.
A Wake County Superior Court judge upheld the state panel's ruling, but that was overturned by the appeals court. The appeals court ordered the state board not to count the 36 ballots. On Feb. 16, the state board passed that decision on to the county board.
``When the court ruled in his favor, I stepped down gracefully,'' Collins said Thursday afternoon. ``I was hoping he'd do the same. I really don't see why I have to go through all of this to get justice.''
Midgette's attorney, Michael Crowell of Raleigh, said his client's argument will be outlined in a response to Collins' complaint to Superior Court.
``We don't think this matter is fully resolved,'' Crowell said in an interview. ``We believe there should be a new election. The voting equipment was not adequate, and therefore, the people who wanted to vote for Rocky were not able to do so. Everybody agrees that that's what happened. And the Court of Appeals has not finally decided this.'' He was referring to the appeals court opinion, which ruled on the 36 blank ballots but did not address the issue of who should hold the commission seat.
That is why Midgette is not stepping down, Crowell said.
Collins however, disagreed, and said she has spent ``a whole lot'' of money to win the election controversy. She was reluctant to give a specific dollar figure, but said a number of her supporters have sold chicken and fish dinners to help her defray legal expenses. Collins acknowledges that while she questions the fairness of having to take action in Superior Court, she will do what she has to do.
``It's been difficult,'' she said. ``But I'm not a quitter. I don't think it's fair for me to have to go back to Superior Court. But I guess he was put there (on the board) by the Superior Court, and the Superior Court has to take him down.''
Midgette has 30 days to file a response to the complaint. No trial date has been set. by CNB