The Arrogance of Power
October 21, 2009
A Washington Times article chronicles a decision by the Obama Justice Department to forbid Kinston, NC (population 23,000) from doing away with party affiliations in local elections. The Justice Department concluded that having city council and mayoral candidates run on a nonpartisan slate “would violate black voters’ right to elect the candidates they want.” (The population of Kinston, NC is two-thirds black.)
“Removing the partisan cue in municipal elections will, in all likelihood, eliminate the single factor that allows black candidates to be elected to office,” explained the former acting head of the Obama Justice Department’s civil rights division. So in other words, the Obama Administration believes the only way an African American can be elected to office is by riding the coattails of the Democratic Party. What a disturbingly condescending view!
The president of the local NAACP found the contention laughable. Said William Cooke, head of the Kinston/Lenoir County branch of the NAACP:
“… even though no party affiliation shows up on a ballot form, candidates still adhere to certain ideologies and people understand that, and are going to identify with who they feel has their best interest at heart.”
Removing the “non” from nonpartisan elections is going to keep the Justice Department pretty busy over the next few years. As the Washington Times article notes, only nine of North Carolina’s 551 cities and towns hold partisan local elections.