A spokesperson for Citizens for the Betterment of Johnston County says efforts to invalidate the election results in the District 1 County Commission race are “preposterous.”
On July 14th, the Johnston County Board of Election conducted a formal hearing into the Republican Primary race between Fred Smith and Michelle Pace Davis. Mr. Smith won by 52 votes out of 19,172 votes cast. Johnny Hill filed a protest alleging a voter guide distributed at polling precincts across the county on March 3rd, urging voters to support Smith and several other candidates, was illegal. Following a four hour hearing last week, the election board voted unanimously to dismiss Mr. Hill’s complaint.
In a prepared statement, the political action committee said, “The decision by the Board of Elections (July 14th) to unanimously dismiss the protest was the right decision and was one that was expected. However, it was unfortunate to watch over the last few months as certain individuals and groups chose to perpetuate falsehoods and do everything in their power to sensationalize something that was a simple expression of Free Speech. All the activity performed by the Citizens for the Betterment of Johnston County was legal, appropriate, and above board. We remain committed to supporting qualified, experienced leaders for public office in our community.”
The email was sent to Johnston County Report from Cody Rizzuto with Hometown Strategies. An internet search indicates the organization is based out of Cincinnati, Ohio. The email did not include a telephone number. On July 16th, we emailed Mr. Rizzuto several questions about Citizens for the Betterment of Johnston County. As of today (Monday), we have not received a reply.
The political action committee (PAC) was not registered with the NC Board of Elections on the date of the March primary, a fact that Mr. Hill claimed in his protest made the voter guides illegal. The election board’s ruling indicated the voter guides did not have an impact on the March primary. The PAC registered with the state elections board days after the primary.
According to a Second Quarter Report, donors to the PAC include Keith Brinson, President of Brinson Holdings, LLC of Princeton. He contributed $700. Richard Childrey of Smithfield, the former president of the Smithfield Selma Chamber of Commerce, donated $1,000. Grey Wolf Development LLC in Clayton gave $5,000. Wade Corbett is the registered agent and managing member for the company. Reid Smith with Reid Smith Company of Clayton made a $1,500 individual contribution according to the report. He is the son of Fred Smith who won the primary over Michelle Pace Davis. Eugene Jackson of Smithfield made a $1,000 individual contribution to the PAC. He is the father of former county commission candidate Lee Jackson, whose name also appeared on the voter guide. Jackson lost his primary bid to the incumbent. Carla Withrow of Smithfield made a $1,000 donation to the political action committee. Ms. Withrow is the Executive Director of Human Resources for Johnston County Public Schools
Altogether, Citizens for the Betterment of Johnston County took in $10,250 in contributions according to the public documents. They listed $9,571.38 in expenditures and $75 in bank charges. $603.62 was on hand at the end of the reporting period. The major expenditures of the PAC include $4,000 for the design and printing of the voter guides and more than $3,400 to a temporary agency where individuals were reportedly hired to hand out the guides at polling precincts.
