Cornelius and Davidson had elections, too!

With all of the attention given to the election results in Huntersville, it might be tempting to forget that all of the local municipalities had elections two weeks ago.  Not much has been said about the elections in Cornelius and Davidson, but voters there also trekked to the polls earlier this month.

Last week, some more detailed numbers were available from the Mecklenburg Board of Elections that  are worth a look.

As one might expect Huntersville had the largest number of voters heading to the polls.  With competitive races and by far the largest population, that is not surprising.  However, when it comes to turnout rate, that top “honor” goes to Davidson.

14.61% of Davidsonians headed to the polls, followed by 13.93% of Huntersville’s registered voters, with only 13.25% of Cornelius’s voters making it out.  While saying the “honor” goes to Davidson for the highest turnout is true, that needs to be said with some serious air quotes around it.  It is a pretty sad state of affairs when all three towns had less than 15% turnout.

A closer looks at the numbers in the Mayoral races also revealed some interesting tidbits.

By now most people are aware if how lopsided the contested race in Huntersville turned out to be.  But what may surprise people are a couple of things that occurred in the uncontested races in Cornelius and Davidson.

At first glance both contests had margins of victory for the incumbents reminiscent of what you might see in Castro’s Cuba or the Kim Dynasty in North Korea.  Chuck Travis won in Cornelius with 93.9% and John Woods won in Davidson with 87.9%.

Write in candidates got a cumulative 6.1% and 12.1% respectively in the two towns which actually seems a bit high – particularly for Davidson.  However, after looking at the turnout data provided by the Board of Elections, it is clear there was a significant protest vote beyond even just the write-ins.

in North Carolina only votes where a candidate is actually selected actually end up being  counted – meaning if a ballot is left blank for a given race, that ballot is not counted in the total winning percentage.  These ballots are considered “spoiled” for this given race where they are left blank.  Not counting these ballots, makes the actual winning percentage look artificially high versus the overall total of voters who went to the polls.

So, what were the actual winning percentages when these “spoiled” ballots are included?

In Cornelius, Mayor Travis got 74.20% of actual ballots cast.  In Davidson, Mayor Woods got a little less, coming in at 72.66%.  In fact in PCT 127 on Davidson’s east side, Woods actually slipped below 70% with only 69.6% pulling the lever for him.

So, what does it mean when more that 25% of voters won’t cast a vote for the only name available on the ballot?

An inquiry with the UNC School of Government did not turn up any academic research on the subject of “protest votes”, but a quick comparison to Huntersville sheds some light on it.  In Huntersville where people had two choices and both candidates were reasonable options, the overall protest vote was just 0.4%.

It would seem that Davidson and Cornelius just need more candidates and more options. If they had them, those candidates would likely be starting from a pretty solid base to make a run at the top spots in these two towns.  In fact, if  those options had existed, we very well may be taking about replacing all three Mayors in North Mecklenburg rather than just one.

Clearly, the main issue driving the electoral shellacking in Huntersville was the I77 HOT lanes.  It stands to reason, that same issue was at work creating the high level of “protest” voting in Davidson and Cornelius where both mayors had similar stances as Huntersville Mayor Jill Swain.

This post originally appeared in this week's Herald Weekly at huntersvilleherald.com.

Davidson election by the numbers

Update: The original version of this post incorrectly stated Davidson Pct 206 only had turnout of 8.8%.  The correct turnout was 15.1%.  Double counting of data on the MeckBOE caused the error.  Apologies for the error on my part.

Well, numbers have finally rolled in this past week that give a little more color on the recent election in Davidson.

One might think with so little choice on the ballot there wouldn't be much to gleen from the election.

Not true.  You just have to look closely.

Based on preliminary turnout numbers provided by MeckBOE, turnout was down this cycle with only 1267 voters heading to the polls this year versus 2139 voters who turned out in 2013.  That's a 40% drop.  Not good.  Not good at all.

In this piece written before the election, we covered the topic of how to "supercharge" your vote through selective voting, or withholding a vote that might otherwise be cast.

Here is a look at those numbers.  In the uncontested Mayor's race the impact of this certainly tempers Mayor John Woods "victory".

Woods "won" the race with 87.89% of the vote while there were 127 write-in votes, or 12.11%.  Compared to 2013 the write-ins were up significantly in terms of both raw numbers and percentage of the vote.  In 2013, there were only 86 write-ins for just 4.89% of the total vote.

Things get even more interesting when looking at the "undervote", or those who cast a ballot but left the Mayor's race blank.  When the undervote is included only 72.6% of voters pulled the lever for Woods.  Again the totals were different when looking at the precinct level.  69.6% in 127 versus 73.5% in 206.

As a frame of reference, the hotly contested mayoral race in Huntersville had tiny numbers of these "protest" votes.  There, only 7 write-in ballots were cast and even fewer left the race blank.  Well over 99% of voters made a selection from the two listed candidates.

Davidon's high rate of protest votes in the Mayor's race certainly says more about the need for candidates than anything else, but if over 1/4 of voters won't vote for a sitting incumbent even when that incumbent is the only option, that is certainly not a good thing.

In the race for the Board of Commissioners, again there were not any real surprises with who won.  All of the incumbents were reelected.  However, it is worth noting that the top 3 vote getters were all people on record as opposing the I77 HOT lanes project.

Some readers may be surprised to see that political newcomer Michael Angell received as many votes as he did.  Angell ran what can best be described as a "stealth" campaign.  Or more directly, he did not do a lot of traditional campaigning.  One could likely attribute this to the fact to the was the only candidate openly opposed to the controversial Catalyst Project.  That may have been the only thing many voters knew about him, but for well over 500 voters that was enough.

A couple of positive things can also be seen in the data.

First, none of the candidates were terribly skewed in where they got their votes relative to the other candidates.  Meaning all of their percentage vote totals between precincts were fairly close - between 35-45% from precinct 127 with the remainder from precinct 206.  Since 206 has a much larger share of registered voters, that seems about right.

Also, there was a decent amount of "strategic" voting - meaning voters did not always fill out a full slate of votes.  The overall undervote in this race was also about 1/4 of the votes that could have been cast.  However, in this type of plurality election some under voting is common, and it appears voters still voted for 3-4 candidates on average.

There is always something interesting in the numbers even in races where there is not much competition.

Mayor Jill Swain's Mythical Popularity

The wailing and gnashing of teeth has been intense over at Jill Swain's Facebook page since Election Day.

One would think that Huntersville was about to fall into the abyss after Tuesday's drubbing at the polls.  One also would likely think the relentless mocking of other electeds and the future mayor shows a staggering amount of "sore loserism".

Reading it, gives the impression a supremely popular politician had just been bushwhacked by some unruly upstarts and the town would hardly be able to limp along without her.

However, a quick look at the historical numbers tells a somewhat different and more realistic story.  The below chart compiled from data available at MeckBOE.org shows Swains numbers in each of her mayoral campaigns.

In her first successful campaign in 2007, Swain won with less than half of the vote in a 4-way contest.  2009 was a very tight contest.  In 2011, she won big but turnout was way down.   In 2013, she barely squeaked out the win against Commissioner Jim Puckett.  In 2015 she lost big as her support collapsed.

Here is what one sees in the numbers.

Based on her vote total in the lowest turnout election, it looks like Swain had roughly 2150 loyal voters through her first 4 mayoral contests.  As turnout went up from that floor she got a few more votes, but she never really gained a larger loyal following.  Her relative popularity among actual voters never really increased.

All things being equal, in 2015 she should have gotten about 2450 votes based on turnout instead if the 1947 she received.  Not only did she not get the extra votes based on the higher turnout from the 2011 floor, but she saw significant erosion in her 2150 voter base.

Mayor Swain lost in 2015 not because she was bushwhacked.  She lost because she was not overwhelmingly popular among the actual voting public to begin with and a significant chunk of even her most loyal base abandoned her.

Post Election Finger Pointing Begins in Huntersville

Well, it hasn't taken long for some in the Team Swain camp to express their dismay and disappointment at their candidate's defeat at the polls on Tuesday.

This post from Huntersville Commissioner, Ron Julian, has been making the rounds on Facebook.  It exemplifies the extent of that disappointment.

Some in the media have also joined in to start subtly spinning a meme to explain away what happened to Mayor Jill Swain.  That would be the idea that Swain was not strongly pro-toll and that she was unfairly targeted by non-Huntersville residents.

The Charlotte Observer had this gem in its recent coverage...

"Swain has not been a vocal supporter of the I-77 project but has previously apologized for anti-toll rhetoric by others on the town board."

The Observer totally minimizes how Swain handled this so-called "apology".  You can see the rest of that story here.

As for Swain not being a "vocal supporter" of the HOT lanes project, well, just because she hasn't been out their saying "tolls are great" doesn't mean she has not been consistently working behind the scenes to push this project forward.

If Swain did not support the HOT plan, then how does one explain this move after the 2013 election where she sidelined the anti-toll commissioners as much as possible while sending Sarah McAulay back to the CRTPO where McAulay did everything she could to push the project forward.

If Swain did not support the HOT plan, then how does one explain her efforts as part of the HOT Lanes Bucket Brigade to stop area commissioners from asking Gov McCrory to delay the original contract signing.

And finally, if Mayor Swain was not a HOT lanes project supporter, then why did she send the below email just this past June attempting to coordinate an information campaign between I77 Mobility Partners, NCDOT and the Lake Norman Citizen?

As interestingly as Mayor Swain sending this email, why did she think the Citizen would be open to the idea?  For some reason she did.

The Citizen has made multiple references in recent coverage furthering the second part of the post election meme that is was non-Huntersvillians who were out to get the Mayor and caused the her defeat.  In its post election coverage the Citizen says "Swain and McAulay were unable, or unwilling, to counter a robust campaign mounted against them in no small part by a group of activists comprised largely of non-Huntersville residents."

How the Citizen knows the detailed breakdown of activists and members of Facebook pages focused on the toll issue is unclear.  However, they sure seem focused on the fact that there are members of these groups who don't live in Huntersville.  They also clearly ignore the fact that these groups have thousands of members and very likely have more than enough from Huntersville to easily cover Tuesday's margin of victory and probably much more than that.

Then again, the Citizen has a long history of this kind of coverage on this issue.

One of the first pieces on the I77 HOT lanes saga at aShortChronicle was a critique of local media way back in January of 2013.

"Media Watch: Is LKN Media in the Tank for the HOT Lanes?"

Word got back a few days later, that the folks at the Citizen didn't like it very much.

Doubt they will like this one any better.

The truth is this.

The incumbents in Huntersville who lost on Tuesday night lost because they were on the wrong side of the biggest issue in the Lake Norman region since the creation of Lake Norman itself.

It really is as simple as that.

Anti-Toll Candidates Achieve Crushing Victory in Huntersville, make gains in other North Meck Towns

In what will likely be one of the more memorable and important victories in North Mecklenburg local politics for a long, long time, anti-toll candidates swept to victory across North Mecklenburg towns Tuesday night.

Ground zero for the blitz was Huntersville's campaign for Mayor.  In the end, Mayor Jill Swain was unseated by challenger John Aneralla in a crushing victory.  Based on the unofficial totals, Aneralla won every single precinct in the town while cruising to the finish line with nearly 59% of the vote.

However, this victory was matched in its thoroughness by the victory of anti-toll candidates in the race for Town Board.  The top three vote getters were long-time anti toll incumbents Danny Phillips and Rob Kidwell coming in 1st and 3rd along with newcomer Mark Gibbons who came in 2nd.

In addition to Swain's loss, toll supporters and incumbents Sarah McAulay and Jeff Neely also lost reelection.  Melissa Bales who had been the top vote getter last time around fell to sixth place.

To give a sense of how ferocious the anti toll zeal was, between Swain and McAulay nearly four decades of combined electoral experience was cast aside.

These two officials became the focus of the anti toll movement due to their support of the I77 HOT lanes over the past three years with Mayor Swain working with the other local mayors to save the project on a number of occasions and McAulay serving as the Chair of the CRTPO as that body relentlessly pushed the project forward.

But the success of anti-toll candidates was not confined to Huntersville.

In Cornelius, Dr Mike Miltich gained the fifth seat on the Cornelius Board by a comfortable margin after missing in a close contest in 2013.  Also, in Davidson where all incumbents were reelected, the two who had been the most supportive of the HOT lanes project, Rodney Graham and Brian Jenest, came in fourth and fifth this time.

While all of the candidates from the anti-toll camp ran good solid campaigns, it was in Huntersville where the power of the grassroots activism behind the larger movement was really seen.  Activists from across the region focused on the Huntersville races putting in time, money, and effort to get candidates elected.

Over the course of this campaign, it became as much about seeking transparent and responsive government as much as it was about tolls.  If that effort and organization can remain in in tact it could have a lasting impact on politics in North Mecklenburg for years to come.

In the end, those efforts resulted in a resounding set of victories.

Election 2015 - This is IT!!!

Election day is finally here!

It is time to head to the polls. With the weather being what it is today turnout will probably be depressed a little bit, so if you do make it to the polls your vote will count for more.

Here are a few tips on how to supercharge your vote as well as recommendations for Davidson, Cornelius, and Huntersville.

Also, take a few minutes and reach out to friends and neighbors in any of the three North Mecklenburg towns and encourage them to head to the polls.  Give them to your recommendations that's another tangible way you can have an impact.

There are likely to be some close races and maybe a few surprises. Don't wake up tomorrow and regret that you did not vote if your candidates don't win!

Early Voting Final Stats...

Countywide early voting was off 19.6% this election cylce with 17,947 ballots cast versus 22,319 in 2013.

North Meck continued to buck that trend in the final days of early voting and actually saw a slight increase at Cornelius Town Hall and North  Regional Library.

Cornelius Town Hall
874 vs. 938

North Regional Library
1411 vs. 1282

That's a total increase of 5%.

North Library alone was up 10%.

Assuming that increase is mostly Huntersville voters due to its location, that would seem to be where the highest enthusiasm is for this cycle.

Tuesday can't arrive soon enough.

North Meck early voting holds firm amid county wide falloff

Going into Thursday with three days left in early voting, it appears that totals for North Mecklenburg are almost exactly at 2013 levels while the county as a whole has fallen off considerably.

As of the Wednesday before election day, only 9,146 people had voted at the county's early voting sites.  In 2013 that total was 12,592.  That's a 27% drop!

However in North Mecklenburg the numbers seem to be holding.  The total numbers at the North Regional Library and Cornelius Town Hall are almost exactly the same as they were at this point in 2013.

1041 this year versus 1048 in 2013.

Assuming these two sites account for the vast majority of early voters from Huntersville, Cornelius, and Davidson it would appear there is a bit more enthusiasm in the north of the county than there is in the county as a whole.

Even so, it is hard to use the word "enthusiasm" when turnout is still this anemic.

2013 was a very close contest in a number of races in the local municipalities. With voting totals on par with that cycle, looks like we could expect the same this time around.

In the spirit of a Renaissance Festival herald...

Get thee to the polls!!!

Supercharge your vote this election

Election Day is upon us and it is time to head to the polls.  Last week’s column explained why local elections are so important.  This week provides tips on getting the most out of your vote this election season.  Here is how to super charge your vote.

First, actually go and do it.  Better yet, bring a few others with you.

That's not an attempt at humor, but a sincere suggestion.  Turnout is disturbingly low in municipal elections, so your vote and the votes of a few friends really matter.  Proportionally, your vote has greater impact in low turnout elections, giving real meaning to the old saying “every vote counts”.

Second, be selective in how you cast your ballot.

That may sound obvious, but many people often make a mistake in at-large contests like the races for municipal boards where you can vote for multiple candidates.  For example in Davidson and Cornelius, you can vote for up to five Board candidates and in Huntersville up to six.  However, just because you can vote for a full slate of candidates does not mean you must.

In this scenario, the sharpest arrow in the voter’s quiver is called the “single shot” vote.

Single shot, or bullet voting, is a tactic where you only vote for one candidate rather than a full slate.  It is a tactic often used by minority communities to get a candidate elected from the minority community even when their overall numbers are not a majority of voters.  It works by withholding votes from other candidates that would have otherwise been cast – giving that single vote a higher proportional value.

The same effect to a lesser degree can be achieved by voting for two or three candidates instead of five or six.  The basic idea is to just not give away votes to candidates that you don't agree with on major issues.

In Davidson and Cornelius most incumbents are going to win reelection anyway because only six candidates are running for five seats.  In those towns you may want to just vote for enough candidates to gain a majority on the board, or three candidates.  Alternatively, if you definitely want new blood, then only vote for one challenger.

In Huntersville, gaining a majority would require four. You could vote for three board members and make your selection in the Mayor’s race based on who you want to be the tie-breaker.  Local mayors only vote in the event of a tie.

Huntersville is the only municipality in North Mecklenburg with a contest for Mayor this year.  However, even in Cornelius and Davidson you have a “choice”.  If you are in either of those towns and don't like how your Mayor is doing things, leave the race blank.  Don't just give away your vote if you don't think they deserve it.  While the amount of the “undervote” usually does not make the news, if the percentage of blank votes or write-ins in the uncontested mayors’ races was high enough that would certainly send a message.

In truth, many of the candidates in all of these races hold similar positions on the smaller issues facing the towns.  Voting for candidates based on their stands on the big issues is where the differences lie.  Whether it be something like the I77 HOT lanes or the Catalyst Project in Davidson, voting based on these issues is where you get the most impact.

Finally, there is one item on everyone’s ballot that will impact your future votes - the referendum to extend terms from two years to four on the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners starting with the next election.  If you believe elected officials should be held accountable to the voters more often, then definitely vote “NO” on that item.

The last two times Mecklenburg voters have been   asked this question, it failed.  Keeping that trend alive, protects the power of your vote for years to come.

If you haven't done so  already, early voting continues through Saturday.   Election Day is Tuesday, November 3rd.

This column first appeared in this week's Herald Weekly at HuntersvilleHerald.com.

Election 2015 Huntersville recommendations...

Election Day is upon us and it is time to head to the polls. Here are some suggestions for Huntersville based on the methodology outlined in my upcomong column from this week's Herald Weekly.  Be sure to check that out on Thursday.

This election cycle, Huntersville is where most of the big action takes place. With over a dozen candidates for the Town Board and the area's only contested mayoral election, there is more to choose from here than anywhere else.

For Town Board you can't go wrong with incumbents Rob Kidwell and Danny Phillips along with newcomer Mark Gibbons.

Commissioners Kidwell and Phillips have proven themselves to be independent voices on the board rather than always walking in lockstep with the leadership on the dias.  They deserve reelection.  Challenger Mark Gibbons also has proven his commitment and willingness to fight for what is best for Huntersville and this region, serving as a prominent leader in the effort to stop the I77 HOT lanes project.

Together, these three gentlemen can ensure Huntersville's best interests are protected as the larger region grows.  They will not reflexively cave to the constant drum beat of "regionalism" coming out of Charlotte.  North Mecklenburg needs its largest municipality to have that kind of backbone if we are to prevent being constantly pummelled by the 800lb gorilla to our south.

On the mayoral side, the choice is also clear.

While I do not know Mayor Swain personally, people who do seem to think she is a very nice person.  HOWEVER, this is not a high school popularity contest.

Huntersville needs a leader willing to go to the mat for the town on large regional issues and Mayor Swain simply is not that person.  Maybe Mayor Swain has gotten too comfortable at Huntersville town hall having been there for a long, looong time.  Her lack of much of a visible campaign effort this cycle also gives the impression of a sense of entitlement that should never be apparent in an elected official.

Regardless, it is time for new blood.

Fortunately for Huntersville, challenger John Aneralla can provide the leadership that has been missing.

Aneralla is no stranger to the political process having run for office at the state level previously.  He also serves on the boards overseeing the State's retirement system which is one of the largest in the country.

Aneralla is on record opposing the I77 HOT lanes from his previous runs for office, so he is not a "jonny come lately" to the anti-toll effort.

In the role of Mayor, voters want someone who will break ties the right way - giving thoughtful consideration to all sides of an issue and not just doing what is popular to a select few.

Electing John Aneralla gives that to Huntersville.

Just my 2 cents...

#MeckBOCC : Vote 'No' on Four Year Terms

As voters head to the polls in Mecklenburg County in large numbers starting today with all early voting sites now open, there is one question on every ballot that deserves a resounding 'NO' vote.

Mecklenburg County Commissioners put a question on this year's ballot to extend their terms from 2-years to 4-years starting with next year's elections.   The question of putting it on the ballot was put forward by Commssioner George Dunlap and approved this past July by a vote of 7-2.

Only Commissioners Matthew Ridenhour and Pat Cotham voted against the idea.

Supporters use the same old justifications that are trotted out every time this kind of idea comes up locally.  "Everybody else is doing it" and "it would be easier for us elected officials" are the reasons they give.

Just because most counties in North Carolina have 4-year terms is really pretty meaningless if you give it more than 2 seconds worth of thought.  The old adage "if your friend jumps off a bridge would you do it too?" comes to mind.

As for making it easier on commissioners, that too should get the blunt retort of "so what!?!?"  If commissioners don't want to run every two years, then don't run!  Let someone else who does want to be accountable to the voters have the job.

Mecklenburg County has had multiple major issues facing it in recent years.  The tax revaluation and the I77 HOT lanes as examples.  Do you really want to give Commissioners more time between elections if they make the wrong dicisions on these issues?

For me, the answer to that is a resounding "No!"

Things just a got interesting with Davidson's election!

This election season Davidson's municipal campaigns have taken a back seat with local media coverage compared to what is going on in Cornelius and especially in Huntersville.  Davidson Mayor John Woods is running unopposed and the election to Davidson's Town Board features five incumbents and one challenger - political newcomer Michael Angell.

I do not know Mr Angell, having spoken to him one time soon after he filed back in July.  The outcome of that discussion was this post on the idea of directed votes and specifically the recent vote at the CRTPO to approve the TIP if it included the I77 HOT Lanes plan.

From that post Angell indicated:

If he was a Commissioner, he said he would vote against supporting the current TIP if it included the current HOT project.

Angell clarified that he's not totally opposed to the idea of tolls.  However, he does oppose the current P3 HOT plan.  He does not like the dynamic tolling process, the use of a foreign company in the P3 which takes money out of the state, the increase in passengers required from HOV-2 to HOT-3, and the use of a 50 year P3 contract for I77 versus the state managed toll proposals for other interstates in the Charlotte area.

Now, there is this...

After last night's raucous public hearing on the Catalyst Project at Town Hall, I messaged Angell today about a Facebook comment that indicated he was opposed to the ideas presented.  Below is what he just posted to his campaign Facebook page this evening.

So, here you have a candidate who has taken positions on two of the most critical issues facing the town.  He may be political newcomer, but he seems to have a very good sense for how the public feels.

With early voting sites opening in North Mecklenburg on Saturday, things could get really interesting really quickly if the energy in the room at Town Hall Tuesday night was to fall in line behind a fresh face.

"96% of Mayor Swain's support from outside Huntersville!"

That would be the logical headline if one local weekly publication was to write a story about Huntersville Mayor Jill Swain's 35-day campaign finance report filed a couple weeks ago.

At least that is what one would think after reading the publication's most recent anonymous commentary lamenting non-Huntersville residents expressing interest in the town's mayoral race.

When the anonymous columnist took potshots at citizens, he/she described them as people "who don’t live in the town they are targeting, meddling in an election with which they have no claim to stake and are clearly actively engaged in attempting to influence."

Ironically, while this local paper seemingly wrote the piece in defense of Mayor Swain, one could certainly say the same about the vast majority of the money donated to Mayor Swain's campaign a little more than a month out from Election Day.  This election cycle, $2700 out of $2800 donated to the campaign has come from people who don't live in Huntersville.

I guess those donors are trying to unduly influence the Huntersville race, right?!?!?

In truth, saying that would be about as silly as the comments coming from that local publication.

Of course almost all politicians and campaigns have supporters and opponents coming from outside their jurisdictions.  Of course those people have a right to their opinions.

That is doubly true in the North Mecklenburg area where our multiple municipalities have overlapping interests, share state legislative districts, participate in numerous regional bodies together, and regularly strive to act as a cohesive unit to counter the influence of the Big City to our south.

The Citizens of all Lake Norman area towns certainly do have an interest in who is elected in all of our towns.  That's because the decisions made by those officials impact all of us.

There is another headline one could also use after looking at the Mayor's campaign report.  "Is Mayor Swain mailing it in this election cycle?" would also be appropriate.  That's because her report shows a whopping 3 donors and zero expenditures.

That's a shockingly small number when compared to Swain's previous runs.  Certainly, the mayor has more than a few supporters left, but one has to wonder at that low number.

As we head into the final stretch of this campaign season, we can expect a few more surprises.   Activists from across the region working to impact the top spot in the region's biggest town shouldn't be one of them.

Bonus Observation:  The local paper also scoffed at those outsiders meddling in the Huntersville election as members of a closed "echo chamber" on Facebook so they were preaching to the choir - implying they were somewhat irrelevant.   As a frame of reference, the Exit 28 Ridiculousness Facebook group has over 4500 members.  Only a little over 9400 votes were cast in the Huntersville, Cornelius, and Davidson mayoral races combined in 2013.  Considering that the vast majority of this group lives in one of these three towns, rather than being irrelevant it may very well be the deciding factor this time around.

UPDATE: Church removes controversial tweet "endorsing" Jill Swain

This is a breaking news update on the previous post.

Calvary Chapel replied to our inquiry this morning regarding its tweet supporting Mayor Jill Swain's reelection this election cycle.

Here is what we received.

"The Twitter post was done unintentionally. It was supposed to be posted to our Pastors account. It was taken down as soon as we realized the error. Simple human error, nothing more. Have a great day."

The first response came from "Team Calvary".

In answer to a follow-up question we received this from Pastor Mike Burner.

"The post was taken down on Sunday, by me, after our last church service. We (I) did not repost it elsewhere. It was a simple logon mistake of my own doing."

While we will take the church at its word that this was an innocent "mistake", it is worth pointing out that it seems odd the original tweet that came from the church account but also referenced the pastor's account (@mikeburner).  If the tweet was supposed to be coming from the pastor's personal account, also referencing that same account in the tweet seems redundant.

I guess we'll just have to chalk that up to an inefficient use of the 140 character Twitter format.

Also, as of this writing, Mayor Swain still has the content of the original tweet up on her campaign Facebook site.  One would think he appropriate thing for the good Mayor to do would be to pull that down as well.

Mayor Jill Swain swoons over church's questionable "endorsement"

With less than a month until election day, it is now the "silly season" in our local elections - the time when the odd and outrageous tend to happen.

Huntersville Mayor Jill Swain kicked off the season with a swooning response to a questionable endorsement from a local church for her reelection.

The endorsement from Calvary Chapel in Huntersville appeared on the church's Twitter feed on Saturday just after noon.  Saturday evening Swain responded from her @SwainsWorld account.

An email to the church office requesting confirmation on who exactly posted  the tweet was not returned on Sunday, and the tweet was still up on the church's site Sunday evening as well as on Jill Swain's Facebook page.  However, the content of the message coming from an official church account and including the church pastor Mike Burner would most certainly seem to cross the line regarding the prohibition on tax exempt organizations engaging in political activity.

Even the most ardent supporters of churches getting involved in politics would likely raise eyebrows at this tweet under current law.

Check out the below excerpt from an open letter to pastors from just this past April.  It is from an organization called the Alliance Defending Freedom for Faith and Justice.  The letter was posted at NCFamily.org.

Churches are recognized as exempt from federal income tax under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code so long as they do not “intervene” in political campaigns. Political intervention, essentially, is advocating for or against candidates for political office. This means that the IRS prohibits churches from activities such as:

• endorsing or opposing political candidates,
  
  
• making financial contributions to political candidates, and

• distributing political campaign literature.

There are two important points to keep in mind regarding the candidate prohibition. First, the candidate prohibition applies to churches and to pastors in their official capacities as church representatives. Pastors acting individually, and not as official church representatives, enjoy the same right to speak out as any other citizen. They may freely support or oppose political candidates without violating the candidate prohibition, or implicating their church’s 501(c)(3) tax status.

Second, the candidate prohibition bans a narrow category of political activity. Churches and their pastors can still discuss candidates’ positions on various issues without violating the candidate prohibition. Churches and their pastors can still distribute non-partisan voter guides, urge their congregants to get out and vote, or even rent out their facilities to candidates on the same terms as any other public group. Only advocating for or against a candidate is prohibited.

The content of the tweet from Calvary Chapel would certainly seem to cross that line.

The fact that it doesn't seem to bother Mayor Jill Swain at all certainly should bother voters.

UPDATE:  See the current post for an update on this story.  The tweet has been removed.