news-record.com

GREENSBORO — A last-minute  phone  campaign urged voters not to cast ballots for either mayoral candidate — incumbent Bill Knight or Councilman Robbie Perkins  — in Tuesday’s election.

In automated calls received by some voters Monday night, a woman said black people won’t be represented by either candidate and asked voters to write-in someone else for mayor. She did not suggest a candidate.

The woman identified herself as a representative of Takeover, a group concerned with the interest of black voters.
But it is not clear who is responsible for the calls. There is no local or state  political action committee registered with that name.

North Carolina state law bans the use of automated calling machines in nearly all cases except messages recorded by candidates or political parties.

Michael Picarelli , executive director of the Guilford County Republican party, said the party had nothing to do with the calls. Local Democratic party officials could not be reached to comment.

Council candidates decried the phone calls — and  signs with a similar message that appeared in some  precincts with high numbers of registered black and minority voters — as a divisive campaign tactic.

“We knew what it was immediately,” said Henry Link, a Lindley Park resident who got the call. “It’s a dirty trick to get black voters not to vote for Perkins. It helps Knight if they don’t. These calls are deliberately designed to deceive black voters.”

Knight did not return calls Tuesday.

Link lives in a precinct Knight won narrowly two years ago but lost to Perkins in last month’s primary.

“People in our area didn’t vote for Knight this last time,” Link said. “That’s why we’re getting them.”

Bert VanderVeen, a District 2 resident and president of the Charles B. Aycock Neighborhood Association, said he received the call, as well as an automated call from Knight’s campaign. When he compared the numbers using caller ID, he came to the same conclusion as some other voters.

“They both came from the same number,” VanderVeen said. “It’s the same Raleigh phone number.”

At least three other voters said they compared the numbers and found them identical. It was unclear Tuesday which service used the number to place the calls or whether it was used by more than one.

Similar signs also popped up at polling places in Lindley Park, near downtown, and in largely-black East Greensboro. The signs are a similar color and design scheme as at-large council candidate Yvonne Johnson,  who is black.

The signs urge voters to write-in a candidate if they are not happy with the mayoral or council candidates. The signs say the effort is not financed by either candidate or their committees.

Perkins called the campaign “disappointing.”

“That type of tactic doesn’t belong in Greensboro,” Perkins said.

“I think people should have more integrity than that,” Picarelli said. “To do something clandestine like that, it’s not something I’d support.”

Jeff Hyde , co-founder of the Tea Party-affiliated political action committee Conservatives for Guilford County, said his group didn’t have anything to do with the campaign, either.

“I don’t know anything about the calls or the signs, so I really can’t say anything about them,” he said.

Contact Joe Killian at 373-7023 or joe.killian@news-record.com

Contact Amanda Lehmert at 373-7075 or amanda.lehmert@news-record.com