Overview:
• Challenger Dennis Smith Sr. trailed by five votes in Godwin’s Board of Commissioners race
• The Godwin town clerk said she texted two voters during her workday, from Town Hall, urging them to vote for the four incumbent commissioners
• The Cumberland County Board of Elections rejected Smith’s protest. He plans to take his case to the state board
Dennis Smith Sr., the father of professional basketball player Dennis Smith Jr., says the Godwin town clerk illegally told voters to cast ballots for his opponents on Election Day, potentially causing his defeat in the Board of Commissioners race.
After local election officials ruled against him on Tuesday, Smith said he plans to appeal to the North Carolina State Board of Elections. He hopes the board will cancel the results and hold a new election.
“To really just win would be nice, but a free and fair election would have been better,” Smith told the Cumberland County Board of Elections on Tuesday morning during a hearing on his protest of the election.
Godwin is home to about 160 people in northeastern Cumberland County. In the municipal election, 45 of the town’s roughly 120 registered voters cast ballots in the November 4 election.
Smith was in a five-way race with four incumbent board members. The top four vote-getters would be seated. Smith came in fifth place with 20 votes, trailing Commissioner George Cooper Jr.’s 25 votes.
He filed an election protest with the Cumberland County Board of Elections on November 17.
Texted From Town Hall Bathroom
At the hearing Tuesday, Town Clerk Jacqueline K. Cooper-Kelley testified under oath that she sent a text message to two people urging them to reelect the incumbents.
The text message read: “Good morning Hun, I didnt have a chance to call you earlier but if you are voting today, would you please vote for George Cooper, Joseph Smith, Ronald McNeiil [sic] & Scarlet Hall. We would like to keep the Board with the same commissioners. Thanks for your support. love ya girl …”
Cooper-Kelley sent the message at 10:29 a.m. November 4 from her personal cell phone. She said she was taking a 10-minute break from work.
“I got up, went into the bathroom, and that’s when I made the text,” Cooper-Kelley said. “And I didn’t even think about where I was at. I just didn’t think about it.”
Under North Carolina law, town employees are not allowed to use their “official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election or nomination for political offices” while they are on duty or in their workplace.
In discussion of the case, elections board members said Cooper-Kelley tried to influence the outcome of the election, but that her attempt was unsuccessful. She would have had to affect the votes of at least three people to change the outcome, said board chair Linda Devore. At least one of the two people she texted was unswayed by her message, board member Bree Eldridge said.
The board voted 4-0 to dismiss Smith’s protest.
Smith said if he can advance his appeal to the state board, he will be better prepared for its review, with more witnesses to testify on his behalf. He said he believes Cooper-Kelley texted at least three people to tell them to vote for the incumbents.
Godwin’s four board members and Mayor Willie Burnette testified during the hearing, as well as the mayor’s wife, Shirley Burnette.
Commissioner Joseph Smith testified that his sister, Angela Phillips, was one of the recipients of Cooper-Kelley’s text message. He said Phillips asked him about the text.
“She came to my house, not understanding what that text was really was about,” he said. “She wanted to know: ‘Do I have to vote for the people that’s on that board?’”
Joseph Smith said he told Phillips, “No, you can vote whoever you want to vote for.”
Son in the NBA
Dennis Smith Jr., played basketball for Trinity Christian School in Fayetteville and N.C. State University, then had a career playing for the NBA. He has played for Dallas, Detroit, Charlotte, New York, Portland, and Brooklyn.
He returns to the Fayetteville area for community service activities. He visited Lucile Souders Elementary School in 2023 to encourage third graders to read.
Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.
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