Dear Boo and Bubble,
Captain and I have been
following the developments surrounding the NC House District 9 race between
Republican Mark Harris and Democrat Dan McCready. Even though the election was held back in November…and
Harris won by a little over 900 votes…a winner was never certified due to the
disclosure of irregularities found regarding absentee ballots. Yesterday, the
state Board of Elections determined that there was so much fraud and tampering
with the ballots, a new election must be held.
From what I understand,
Harris’ campaign hired a man named McCrae Dowless to coordinate the collection
of absentee ballots and see to it that they were turned into the local election
offices in several counties in the district. At issue was the fact that, in
North Carolina, it is illegal for anyone other than the actual voter to turn in
the ballot…except on rare occasions when someone related to the voter is
allowed to do so after certification of the relationship. Not only did Dowless’
henchmen harvest the ballots, on many occasions they completed them as well…and
were paid to do so. Suspicion arose quickly by those overseeing the election and,
after several days of hearings, the extent of the fraud was brought to light. The
number of ballots affected was deemed to be so sufficient that the results of
Harris’ win could not be certified.
In very dramatic fashion,
Harris’ own son…who works in the US Attorney’s office for the district…testified
that he had warned his father about Dowless and implored him not to use Dowless
for the campaign. Apparently, this advice went unheeded, and a mindset of “winning
at any cost” prevailed.
Boys…the desire to win pervades
pretty much every facet of our society. Although it’s the goal in any game,
contest or sport, sometimes the very nature of it can destroy any other aspect
of the endeavor—like just having fun or participating. Nowhere is this attitude
more ubiquitous than in the arena of politics…and it is so much more dangerous
because of the high stakes involved…that of power—over policy, the purse and
people.
In 1887, a British
politician named Lord John Dalberg-Acton wrote that “power corrupts, and
absolute power corrupts absolutely.” These words convey his opinion that as a
person’s power increases, their moral sense diminishes. I would add my own caveat—that
even in the attempt to gain power, moral sense can be diminished. It
takes a very strong person…one with a true moral compass…to resist the
temptation to “win at any cost.” Captain is one such person and, even though I
have told you this story before (see the blog dated Thursday, July 9, 2015,
entitled “A Real Squeaker”), I want to reiterate it now because it is so
apropos to the context of this moment.
Years ago, in 1982, he
ran for office, hoping to become the representative for House District #30 in
the SC House. The district included the city of Gaffney and surrounding areas
of Cherokee County. At the time, there was entrenched in the local politics a
system known as “drivers”—people who kept in their possession the voter
registration cards of others and who, for a price, would deliver those voters
to the polls and make sure they voted correctly (for the candidate who had paid
the price). Although most everyone accepted the practice, Captain did not. He thought
it unsavory at best and, more aptly, fraudulent. When we met with our
supporters at the beginning of the campaign, he explained that he planned to
run for office without buying the drivers. His conscience wouldn’t allow it.
Instead, he was going to go “door to door” and put himself in front of as many
voters as he could, hoping to gain their confidence the old-fashioned way—personally.
He procured the voter
registration roles for the district and mapped out routes all over the county,
I joined him on many afternoons as we walked the neighborhoods of the city
limits and drove all over the countryside—knocking on doors and leaving flyers
stuck behind screens when folks weren’t home. Meanwhile, others in the race
purchased the services of the drivers.
When the day came for the
primary vote, Captain came out ahead in the field, but not with enough votes to
be declared the winner without a runoff. We had two weeks to regroup and begin
the last leg of the campaign. Some supporters urged him to buy the drivers
before the other candidate could. They insisted that this was the only way to
insure his victory. He refused to do so. We went back out into the field and
started over again.
Election day came. We
gathered at his law office with friends and family to listen to the returns on
the radio. Precinct after precinct reported their vote totals and his margin of
victory began to dissipate. At the end of the evening, he led by only 6 votes
out of over 6,000 cast. This caused an automatic recount and we were in limbo
for almost a week before the final results could be certified. It was a most anxious
time.
Captain prevailed…by the
skin of his teeth…and the win was satisfying…but not nearly as much as the
moral victory of having won it without paying to do so. Even though he served
with distinction for the next two years, he was defeated for re-election. (I
think maybe the drivers had it in for him!) Fortunately, it was never about
power for him…it was about service. That made the loss easier to take. He could
walk away from it without bitterness or complaint. Honestly, though, it took me
a lot longer to get over it!
Perhaps if I can wrap
some sort of a moral around this epistle, it would have to be the directive to
be sincere in what you strive to do with your life. Stay true to yourself…don’t
let the sirens of winning and power ring so loudly in your head that they drown
out all that you know to be right. And…if you have to pay someone for their
support, they probably aren’t worth the price.
