Wednesday, September 7, 2011, 3:30 pm News Flash Archive

In what is shaping up to make Mississippi legal history, the Leflore County Democrat Executive Committee (LCDEC) has now held two different hearings on the same election complaint, at two different times, by two different factions, and rendered opposite decisions in the matter.

Anjuan Brown had been certified the Democrat nominee for Supervisor District 3 after the August 2 primary. Incumbent Preston Ratliff filed a challenge with the LCDEC. A meeting was called to take up the challenge, but Ratliff obtained a restraining order from the Chancellor barring the meeting due to lack of proper notice.

Whereupon, two competing factions of the LCDEC scheduled two different meetings to be held this morning at the Leflore County Courthouse.

The first faction held its hearing and decided the challenge in favor of Anjuan Brown.

The second faction held its hearing later this morning and decided the challenge in favor of Preston Ratliff.

According to the Greenwood Commonwealth this afternoon, neither faction's hearing had a quorum of the 30 LCDEC members.

Brown's attorney was busy this morning serving various parties with his Circuit Court lawsuit and court order to quash all the subpoenas issued by the second faction. However, many of the witnesses showed up and some apparently testified at the second hearing.

The question now is: which candidate will file an appeal, or will both of them be required to do so, not knowing which LCDEC faction's decision will be the controlling one?

Also a conundrum: which LCDEC faction's ruling will the Leflore County Election Commission obey in drawing up the general election ballot? No matter which, the opposing candidate will no doubt promptly sue the Election Commission to reverse its decision.

John Pittman Hey
The Taxpayers Channel

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