Perry Mason
June 26, 2008 in Grassroots Democracy
Yes, I get to be Perry Mason tomorrow. Or maybe Matlock?
Tomorrow at 4 PM I will appear before the state Elections Commission to argue that their staff’s decision to refuse to place the SC Green Party nominee, Eugene Platt, on the ballot because he lost the Democratic nomination, despite the fact that he won the Green Party nomination a full month before the Democratic primary, was wrong. I will argue that they must put our candidate on the ballot for any number of reasons, including what I see as a misinterpretation of state law and constitutional issues.
If you are old enough to remember what Graham Nash said when introduced at Woodstock, well, that’s me. Scared itless.
I just want to say that I will be out of pocket until at least Friday night. This site is a month old today and we have gotten more than 3100 visits, averaging 3 1/2 minutes and a total of almost 5800 page views, and that is for GPW.com only. We will see those numbers grow when GPW.org is merged and I begin to promote more aggressively.
For the moment, wish me well please, and think kind thoughts at 4 PM east coast time.
Paul said on June 26, 2008
Good luck Team Platt!
Your dedication to this cause is impressive Gregg and I’m confident that if you express your beliefs as you have been here, you will do a great job.
Demand a fair democracy!
Lou Novak said on June 29, 2008
Well, how did it go?
Gregg Jocoy said on June 29, 2008
Hey Lou. It went as I thought it might. Two of the elections commissioners were on the telephone with three in the room. Before the meeting began I saw the attorney for the Democratic Party bending the ear of both commissioners and their attorney, so he was getting in his shots before we even arrived. The Commission staffers who had advocated keeping Platt off the ballot were also involved in this ex-parte conversation. I know that this sort of behavior is not acceptable at the state’s Public Service Commission, but I guess it’s not as necessary to follow such niceties when we are only talking about the core of the democratic process.
As the Commission came to order the room filled with a representative of Common Cause, a representative of the South Carolina Libertarian Party and a representative of the South Carolina League of Women Voters in attendance as well as two members of the South Carolina Green Party Steering Committee. The Democrats were represented by a lawyer who was just elected to the Democratic National Committee, two others who were with him, and a forth fellow who spoke to the commission but did not say who he was, or if he did, I missed it.
I asked to speak last, pointing out that not being a lawyer puts me at a disadvantage, and at least I did not want the Democrat’s lawyer to have a shot at my comments after I had spoken, knowing that I would be unable to respond. They agreed and I did speak last.
The chair of the commission that day explained that unless a motion was made and passed to overturn their staff’s position, it would stand. We then laid out our various positions on the case, none of which was recorded in any fashion as far as I could see, and the chair asked if there was a motion. The female member of the commission who was present moved to go into executive session to ask questions of the commission lawyer. The other female member of the commission, who was on the phone, seconded the motion and they went into executive session. This was more than I had hoped for since all they had to do to get rid of us was do nothing.
They met in private for about ten minutes. When they came back into session the chair asked if there were any motions. A male member of the commission said he was not going to make any motions, and said that the reason he would not make a motion is because he believes the commission is not in a position to
consider constitutional issues, and he believed the law was clear on it’s face that Eugene could not be on the ballot in November. In short, take it to court.
That is apparently what we must do now. The sick thing is, the same Democrat liar..er..lawyer was involved in a law suit against the elections commission on behalf of the Working Families Party that won, and may in part form the basis of a suit if Platt can find a way to do so.