LUMBERTON — A judicial candidate in 2018 who was at odds with the Robeson County Board of Elections has been selected to serve on that panel.
Jack Moody, a county Public Defender’s Office attorney and former District Court judge candidate, was named this week to serve on the local Elections Board by the N.C. State Board of Elections. Moody lost a hotly contested District Court 16B race to Vanessa Burton after the counting of provisional ballots wiped out the lead he held at the end of voting on Nov. 6.
Moody said he did not seek the appointment.
“They called me and asked if I would be willing to serve,” Moody said.
He told them he would think about it and discuss the offer with his wife, Moody said. He and his wife spoke about it and then spoke with Steve Stone and Phillip Stephens, county GOP chairman.
About a week after being asked, Moody told the county party leadership he would serve if selected.
Moody will replace Steve Stone, who retired from the county board as of May 24, and serve out the remainder of Stone’s term. Moody joins board members Tiffany Peguise-Powers, chairperson; Larry Townsend, secretary; Karen Nance; and Olivia Oxendine. Moody and Oxendine will be the two Republican members. Peguise-Powers, Townsend and Nance are Democrats.
The newly appointed member will be sworn in on a date to be determined, said Tina Bledsoe, interim Board of Elections director. The sitting board members were sworn in on Feb. 26.
Moody’s appointment expires on the last Tuesday of June 2021 or until a successor is appointed and qualified, said Patrick Gannon, spokesman for the State Board of Elections.
“I think Jack will be a good candidate for it,” Stone said.
Moody is unbiased, reasonable and is knowledgeable about the board’s functions and of the elections process, Stone said.
Stone served on the board for almost 16 years. He was the board chairman for four years.
Stone, 59, is a general contractor in the construction industry. Business demands grew to the point that they prevented him from serving effectively, Stone said.
He served with “great people” on both sides of the political aisle, Stone said. He praised the Elections Board staff for their hard work and for making the board members “look like we knew what we were doing.”
“I’m honored to to have been able to serve,” Stone said.
Stephens said the county Republican Party was sad to see Stone retire.
“He served honorably and will be sorely missed,” Stephens said.
The party welcomes Moody to the board, he said.
“He is a community leader with firsthand knowledge of elections,” Stephens said. “He will be a great asset to the board.”
The District Court 16B race between Burton and Moody became embroiled in drama in November that extended into April.
The vote count taken after the Nov. 6 general election showed Moody won the judicial bench position by 138 votes. His lead was cut to 77 after absentee ballots were tallied. After provisional ballots were counted on Nov. 15, Moody trailed Burton by 71 votes.
Burton’s margin of victory was below the 1 percent of all votes cast threshold that permits a recount request. Moody was granted a recount. The result of that count of showed Burton had 15,382 votes to Moody’s 15,315, a margin of 67.
The State Board of Elections declared Burton the winner in early April. Moody elected not to challenge the state board’s ruling.
