Overview:
• The elections board is considering if a text message from the Godwin town clerk illegally affected the outcome of the town board election.
• Candidate Dennis Smith Sr., who was behind by five votes, is trying to persuade officials to call a new election.
• Meanwhile, the town board fired the town clerk this week.
The disputed outcome of the 2025 Godwin town board election will remain unresolved for now since some witnesses did not appear at a Cumberland County Board of Elections hearing on Friday.
The absent witnesses did not receive their subpoenas to testify. The board heard testimony from three other witnesses on Friday before recessing the hearing and voting to resume at 10 a.m. February 6 at the Cumberland County Courthouse.
At issue is whether the results of the November election for Godwin’s four town commissioner seats should be thrown out, and a new election held. It depends whether a text message that then-Godwin Town Clerk Jacqueline Cooper-Kelley sent to some Godwin voters on Election Day, and from town hall, influenced enough votes to affect the outcome. She urged the recipients to reelect all four incumbent town commissioners.
State law says town employees may advocate for their preferred candidates, but it’s illegal to do so while at work and at their worksite.
Town board candidate Dennis Smith Sr. trailed by five votes. He would have won a seat if at least three voters had voted for him instead of the other four candidates. The ballot listed a slate of five candidates and voters were asked to pick up to four of them.
The county elections board ruled against Smith at a hearing on December 2. It decided that it had evidence of only two people receiving Cooper-Kelley’s message, and that there was no evidence that either voter was influenced by the message. The election board decided that was insufficient to change the outcome.
Smith appealed to the North Carolina State Board of Elections. On December 22, Smith told the state board he had new evidence to bring forward. The state board granted his appeal and sent the matter back to the county board to continue the review of the election.
If a new election is called for Godwin, it likely would be held on May 12, the same day as runoff elections from the March 3 primaries, county elections board Chair Linda Devore said.
Godwin, a town of about 160, is northeast of Fayetteville in Cumberland County.
‘I’m Not a Snitch’
Some points in Friday’s testimony:
- Voter Curtis Forte said he received a text message on the morning of Election Day from Cooper-Kelley, and it said he should vote for the four incumbent commissioners. He would not say whether the message affected his vote. “I decline to answer that, ma’am, because it’s my private information,” he told Devore.
- Voter Angela Phillips Smith testified she received the text from Cooper-Kelley on Election Day, and it did not affect her vote. Smith said she confronted Cooper-Kelley about the text message, and she later heard that people were saying she was a “snitch.” “That’s what I was called. But I’m not a snitch,” Smith said.
- Godwin Mayor Willie Burnette said former Mayor Deborah Tew told him she received a text message from Cooper-Kelley about who to vote for. Tew was subpoenaed but did not attend Friday’s hearing.
Godwin Fires Its Town Clerk
The Godwin town board has a mayor plus the four commissioners. The mayor’s election result is not in dispute. Burnette was unopposed for reelection.
The town board fired Cooper-Kelley on Monday in a 3-2 vote, Burnette told CityView on Friday. He said this was due to poor performance of her job duties.
Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.
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