Businesswoman and strong public school advocate Tracy Clark (pictured above) was selected by Guilford County Democratic Party leaders on Saturday, Aug. 3, to fill the unexpired term for the NC House 57 seat after former House Rep. Ashton Clemmons announced she was stepping down from that position.
However, Clark’s selection is now being challenged by the Guilford County African American Caucus (GCAAC) – which claims the established rules for electing a replacement to that seat weren’t followed, and therefore a new vote to fill the seat must be held.
Clark came out of a Saturday morning Zoom meeting as the winner of the seat; however, even before the vote took place, the Guilford County African American Caucus was saying that the selection process needed to be stopped so that procedural issues could be ironed out and the complicated proper legal process could be adhered to.
As expected, the person chosen to fill the unexpired term, Clark, was also selected to be on the ballot for the seat in place of Clemmons in the November election.
That move required a second vote by Democratic Party leaders.
Last month, Clemmons announced via a social media post that she was stepping down from her House seat to take a job in the academic sector and that lead area Democrats scrambling to find a replacement.
Objections to the process that selected Clark have to do with how votes were weighted, the timing of the vote, the failure to account for some changes in the selection process due to the fact that the district’s lines were redrawn while Clemmons was in office, and several other factors as well.
Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston said this week that, after those in the process were shown the objections, there were disagreements between the parliamentarian and the lawyer as to how the election should have been conducted.
Alston also said the rules for selecting a replacement were clearly violated, and he and other Democrats – including attorneys – are working to invalidate Clark’s selection and see that a new vote is conducted to take the place of the August 3 vote.
Prior to the August 3 vote by the Guilford County Democratic Party, the Executive Committee of the Guilford County African American Caucus “respectfully requested to consider rescheduling the vote for the appointment of the NC House 57 representative,” according to a recent memo from the caucus.
Byron Gladden, president of the Guilford County African American Caucus, stated on Friday, August 9: “After carefully considering the concerns expressed by candidates, elected officials, precinct chairs, and supporters, we felt it was important to formally request the postponement of the proposed meeting on August 3rd, 2024, for the replacement of the NC House District 57 representative.”
Gladden added, “A postponement would have allowed candidates and voters adequate time to understand the announced changes in the voting process, review their options, and complete outstanding requests for data from the local county chair.”
Gladden also stated that he and other African American Caucus leaders were “disappointed and surprised” that, after submitting the sincere and well-justified request to reschedule the vote, the party chair – Kathy Kirkpatrick – chose to move forward with the vote anyway.
According to Gladden, that vote took place despite major tensions, confusion and uncertainties at play.
Before the vote that put Wilson in the seat, Alston – the most powerful Democratic politician in Guilford County – announced who he would like to fill the seat.
And it wasn’t Clark.
“I wanted people to know where I stand on this,” Alston told the Rhino Times a week before the vote. “I am endorsing Linda Wilson.”
Wilson, a native of Franklin County, has lived in Greensboro ever since she graduated from NC A&T University. She has run for the Greensboro City Council and lost.
Given that the challenge is being put forth by the African American Caucus, and given the tensions now at play, it should be noted that Wilson is black while Clark is white.
After Clemmons stepped down from her seat earlier this month, the local Democratic Party sent out a notice that people who wanted to be considered for this position needed to send an email to that effect “ASAP.”
Gladden said this week that, given the gravity of the situation and its potential precedent-setting nature, the caucus felt compelled the fight the result of the selection of Clark.
The vote taken by the Executive Committee of the Guilford County African American Caucus was unanimous, and the group, Gladden said, has provided materials to those involved with, and affected by, this decision. Those materials include a current copy of the NC Democratic Party Plan of Organization and the relevant North Carolina state law statutes.
There are three pillars to the mission of the large and influential Guilford County African American Caucus:
- To represent the interests and concerns of the African American community
- To articulate these concerns to the Democratic Party when necessary
- To support the Democratic Party at all levels.
In Aston Clemmons’ statement of departure posted on the social media platform X in July, Clemmons wrote, “It has truly been a great honor to serve the people of Guilford County and the State of North Carolina as a State Representative since 2019. Our state thrives when leaders focus on the people we serve; I am eternally grateful for the opportunities to learn deeply about our great state and move forward solutions for North Carolinians.”
Sounds like the typical mixed bag of worms , but hey, this is Guilford County and Skip’s playground. Skip is not happy so play the race card. That’s how Guilford County and Skip play. Ya got what you continue to vote for so enjoy Skip and his shinnagans.
When reading this article it is very clear that the problem is that the vacancy was not filled by a black person. When Skippy is involved race is always the deciding factor. Skippy other people are qualified to fill these positions and every opening does not require a black replacement.
If the rules were not followed then the proper procedures shall be followed .
HOWEVER if they were followed and the Guilford County African American Caucus is once again creating an unfounded falsehood just to have their candidate elected the GCAAC shall issue an apology to ALL the citizens in NC House 57 district. Skip Alton is involved we can be assured it will involve racial discrimination IF the accusations against Tracy Clark as proved to be false. If I am wrong, then my apologies to all for my accusations.
Looks like king skippy is upset about not getting his way
What did you expect?
Who gives a ….. Disfunction in the democratic party as usual
To paraphrase The Bard’s quote…”There is something rotten in the state of Denmark”
Thus, the priorities of identity politics imperil the tall central pole supposedly upholding the big tent party…
And Americans are wondering how Kamala Harris was chosen to head the Democrat ticket WITHOUT receiving ONE single primary vote. Be sure to vote the Democrat Ticket in 2024 – if you love the thought of residing in a Banana Republic.
At first I thought Skip was saying he wanted the seat for himself. It that would get him out of Guilford County government, I’d be all for it. But no, the Lord High Executioner himself had a designated person he wanted for the spot. And he is absolutely right. I mean by not heeding his advice, clearly established procedures WERE NOT FOLLOWED.
I don’t have a dog in this fight but I must say, Skippy once again is using his political office as a bully pulpit. No surprise here, just an observation. Skip is and will remain a racist.
If you don’t overstep then you don’t have to worry about your toes being stepped on. In short that means you need to come to grips with who runs this part of the state. And in realizing that you will have less people with their feelings hurt.
Hey city do you identify as,black, african or American. Kamala says she is black but that is her take on it. Obama said he was black but he had a White parent. How does that work.
What’s up city cat get your tongue or are trying to figure out what you identify as maybe we will just call you obama harris in the future
Why don’t we start with the obvious question? Just how many Africans are part of the Guilford County “African American” Caucus? I’m pretty sure it at or near zero. How can anyone take them seriously when they don’t even know who they are? Either way the best they’ll ever be is a democrat, so it really doesn’t matter who they choose.
“Given that the challenge is being put forth by the African American Caucus, and given the tensions now at play, it should be noted that Wilson is black while Clark is white.” I am not a Democrat and have no dog in this hunt. But Emperor Skip clearly does not like it when he is not the supreme arbiter, so here we go. All sounds pretty racist to me ……
How many African Americans can we have in Guilford County? There may be a few, but I am not aware of them. We have LOTS of Americans, but it has been a while since I met any from Africa.
Minorities are the majority in Guilford County, the home of freebies and handouts.
Someone did not read the new Guilford County “Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Rule Book”.
Page 1, Paragraph 1, Line 1: “All decisions must start with asking Guilford County African American Caucus who they want”.
Page 1, Paragraph 1, Line 2: “Vote that person in”.
Page 1, Paragraph 1, Line 3: “Congratulate everyone for being so Equitable, Diverse, and Inclusive”.
Page 1, Paragraph 1, Line 4: “Praise Ship Alston for his leadership”.
Page 1, Paragraph 2, Line 1: “End Of Rule Book”.
The third pillar in the GCASC’s mission is the problem. Supporting the democrat party at all levels will not lead to a satisfactory outcome in most cases. The democrat party will disappoint every time. They seem to ‘install’ their candidates by fiat, disregarding the voters which doesn’t seem quite so democratic.
Interesting that the education, work history, political experience and other ‘bona fides’ were never mentioned which leads me to believe the kerfuffle is all about DIE….
What exact steps do we need to do to get rid of the racist Skippy? I’m sure we have been trying for decades……
Did Wilson submit her interest in the position ASAP or did she not submit it in a timely manner. In other words, maybe she lost because of a technicality. Then Skip stepped in with an exception.
I wonder if Ms. Clark has considered the republican party.