Willis to appeal circuit court decision

By Mackenzie Taylor
WBTW News13
Published: July 16, 2008

FLORENCE — Florence Mayor Frank Willis has decided he’ll appeal a decision handed down Monday by 12th Circuit Judge Michael Nettles, in which Nettles dismissed Willis’ appeal in the Florence mayoral primary election.

The results of the June 10 election showed Willis trailing Stephen J. Wukela by one vote.

“The citizens of Florence deserve to have an electoral process that they can believe in,” Willis said in a statement released Wednesday morning. “They also deserve to have any elected official who emerges from that process to be free and clear of any questions regarding their legitimacy. Close elections are one thing but fair elections are another.”

Willis said he’s seeking an interpretation of the law.

“At least on two occasions, we’ve had it interpreted one way and then we’ve had it interpreted another way,” he said. “We think it needs to be clarified. We think the Supreme Court is the only one that can do that definitively. We’re counting on the interpretation of the Supreme Court to rule that we will have to have a revote.”

Willis cited a similar instance that happened in the Florence County town of Johnsonville in 2003, when Steve Dukes ran against incumbent mayor Tom Redmond. Dukes eventually was sworn in as mayor as the result of that election.

“They had the same situation. The difference was three votes,” Willis said. “The election was challenged. It went before the party, they upheld the election, they appealed to the circuit court, who upheld the election (and) they appealed it to the Supreme Court, who then reversed it.

“We think the cases are identical and it confuses us to some extent as to how the court can, based on those decisions by the Supreme Court, how could they rule otherwise?”

Wukela disagrees. He said he believes Nettles’ ruling was correct and that it will be upheld.

Former Florence mayor Rocky Pearce, who announced Tuesday his name will be on the ballot as a petition candidate in the city’s mayoral election in November, said Willis is entitled to appeal Nettles’ ruling.

Willis said he thinks the appeal of Nettles’ ruling transcends his candidacy.

“At this point, I’m not sure that this campaign is about Frank Willis or Stephen Wukela anymore. It’s about the electoral process,” he said. “It is a process that is inherent to our way of life. It’s a democratic way of life. You have the right to vote and you have the right to a fair election.”

As for those who think Willis should concede the election, Willis said he has two questions for them.

“I would say to them when you go to the voting booth, do you want a fair chance to vote? Do you want to have fair elections in the City of Florence?” he said. “It’s not about me anymore. It’s about getting a fair election.”

Jermaine Nowlin, a 35-year Florence resident, said he was shocked by the outcome of the primary election and has never seen anything like it.

“Even though Florence is growing ... you never would think that something would come up like this,” he said.

Still, Nowlin said he thinks Willis is doing the right thing.

“I think he should appeal it because with one vote deciding, I really think that’s too close to really call it,” Nowlin said.

John Letki, another Florence resident, echoed Nowlin’s sentiments.

“I believe if you have strong feelings that one vote is really make difference in your life, you should go to the highest level and let them decide,” Letki said.

The certified results of a recount in June 10’s mayoral primary showed Wukela with 1,469 votes to Willis’ 1,468 — the same results that followed the review of challenged ballots two days after the June 10 primary.

On June 26, Willis’ attorneys filed an appeal calling for the court to reverse a 4-2 decision of the state Democratic party’s Board of State Canvassers of Municipal Primaries and order a new primary. No Republicans filed for the office.

A 90-minute hearing on the appeal took place July 2 in Florence.

In a 46-page ruling released by the Clerk of Court’s office Monday morning, Nettles ruled that Willis’ appeal would be dismissed and affirmed the decision of the city of Florence Municipal Election Commission certifying the June 10 primary election of Wukela as Florence Democratic Party nominee.

“The factors of this controversy and the applicable law will not allow this court to circumvent the will of the people. The voters have spoken ...,” Nettles wrote in the conclusion of his ruling.

Nowlin said he, like most others living in Florence, are ready for the matter to be resolved.

“I’ve been following it from Day 1 and I know it’s time for it to be over so Florence can move on to do whatever needs to be done to better our community,” he said.

— Morning News Staff Writers Shireese M. Bell and Charles Tomlinson contributed to this report.