Sunday, September 04, 2005

The Herald's opinion

In Selma, all's well that ends well

A movie character once said that one must have faith that the universe will unfold as it should. Selma is just a small part of the universe, but in a Johnston County courtroom on Monday, events unfolded as they should have for the town.

Superior Court Judge Knox Jenkins, who has a keen sense of fairness, said Selma could add two names to its November ballot. He made the right call.

To be sure, no one could fault the candidates -- Charles Hester for mayor and Tommy Holmes for Town Council. They filed before the noon Aug. 5 deadline, but through no fault of their own, their paperwork arrived late in the elections office in Smithfield.

At the same time, Judge Jenkins refused to fault the Board of Elections, which stood by its decision to reject the candidate filings. In fact, the judge went so far as to praise the Board of Elections for upholding the law.

But to his credit, Judge Jenkins used the out given him under the law. That provision says a judge can override an elections board ruling under extraordinary circumstances. Certainly, the circumstances in Selma were extraordinary. No one could remember a similar incident in Johnston County.

Judge Jenkins recognized that fact, and now, the November election in Selma will unfold as it should.

3 comments:

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Anonymous said...

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Troy LaPlante said...

It is real in that it was an actual article in a real publication. I found it very amusing. I also do wish that people today were taught that sort of respect for one another, especially for one's spouse.