Some news and observations from the past week for your perusal on this beautiful ENC weekend:
MERRITT WON’T RUN FOR REELECTION: Evidently, one term on the Kinston City Council was enough for Bobby Merritt.
Merritt, who won his seat in 2009 in his inaugural run for political office, sent me an email Friday night explaining his reasons not to run for reelection.
“I did enjoy my four years and leave with no regrets,” Merritt wrote. “I am choosing not to run for personal reasons that are no reflection on the current council members or the direction of the current administration.”
He added that he feels our city is “in good hands with our new manager, new head of finance, and current council members.”
As I did during his successful 2009 campaign, I’ll admit now: I’ve always liked Merritt. He has a laid-back personality and he’s one of those folks that when you meet him, you instantly like him. I wondered aloud in a column four years ago how someone with his amicable demeanor could be a politician — but he did a solid job in his single term on the council.
Merritt’s decision leaves another void in the Kinston political scene. While it’s not been formally announced, two-term councilman Robbie Swinson has indicated several times he will be running for reelection despite suffering a heart attack late last year. Local businessman John Nix, who ran unsuccessfully for a spot two years ago, has also indicated he will run for one of the two council seats.
But to this moment, those are the only two candidates who have indicated interest in being on the council. Former City Manager Ralph Clark is the only announced candidate for mayor to this point, also. Yes, several weeks remain before filing for the positions in July, but where are the candidates?
LAROQUE TRIAL: I had my first live look at the two-week-old Stephen LaRoque trial in Greenville on Friday. I have a few takeaways from my one day in the former representative’s trial.
For someone facing the potential of jail time and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, LaRoque, the former state representative accused of illegally taking money from his nonprofits, is as relaxed as any defendant I’ve ever seen. That’s probably because he has the state’s top defense lawyer (Joe Cheshire) in his corner and the mind-numbing way the prosecution is presenting its case … at least on Friday.
For the entire day, U.S. Attorney Dennis Duffy went almost line-by-line through LaRoque’s tax returns (along with those from LaRoque’s businesses) with a trio of Kinston CPAs, repeating himself so often that U.S. District Judge Malcolm Howard had to interrupt the prosecutor several times to implore him to not repeat himself.
I watched the jury intently throughout Friday’s proceedings — and they were as bored and mind-numbed as the folks sitting in the courtroom during Duffy’s line of questioning.
If there was one lesson I learned from Duffy’s droning presentation, though, it was this: if you’re on a public or private board, make sure there are in-depth minutes taken.
LaRoque is set to take the witness stand in his own defense Monday or Tuesday; the judge told the jury he thinks they’ll be able to begin deliberations as early as Tuesday.
Want more LaRoque insights? Listen to this week’s Free Press Radio Show, in which staff writer Wes Wolfe joins Jon Dawson and me to talk about the trial. Wolfe, who has only missed a couple of days of the trial, shares his thoughts and observations in a very entertaining and informational manner.
CIVIL WAR TRIP: The Kinston-Lenoir County Chamber of Commerce is offering a trip through AAA to the Civil War battlefields of Pennsylvania and Virginia which includes stops at Gettysburg and the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier.
The motor coach trip takes place Oct. 23-26 and includes great accommodations and most meals.
For more information, call Rose Hardy at Rose Hardy at 252-523-7777 or email her at rbhardy@mailaaa.com.
FOCUS GROUP: Consider this a final call for participants for Tuesday’s Free Press focus groups, which will take place at the Pride of Kinston, 327 N. Queen St. There are three sessions to choose from: 8-9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. and 5:30-7 p.m. Everyone who participates in a 90-minute session receives a $10 gift card, is eligible for a $100 card and light refreshments will be served at each session.
More importantly, this is your opportunity to let us know what you’d like to see in your Daily Free Press. Your opinion really counts. The deadline to register is at noon on Monday; contact me by the methods listed below to register.
Bryan C. Hanks is the managing editor of The Free Press; his column appears in this space every Sunday. You can reach him at 252-559-1074 or at Bryan.Hanks@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at BCHanks.