At the request of board member Jon Myers, the Davidson County Board of Elections scheduled the hearing after the May 4 election, but before the May 11 canvass. The residents and Hege will have until May 5 to file briefs and arrange for legal counsel, the board ruled Monday. “Voting has begun, so we should have a stay,” Myers said.
Early primary voting began April 15.
Melisia Prout, the president of Salvation’s Way and a Forsyth County resident, organized the challenge. The challengers say Hege, a convicted felon, would be in direct violation of state law if elected because he would have control over firearms in the sheriff’s office.
“We are very happy that we got a hearing,” Prout said. “We will file a brief for the board with the witnesses and the documents. Our case is on the qualifications, and we are most concerned about the general election ballot, not so much about the primary. This gives us more time to prepare.”
Hege has claimed the complaint does not make sense and should have been handled before voting started.
“We expected this to happen,” Hege said. “This is no surprise. The board is giving them the benefit of the doubt. We don’t want any doubt either.”
Although elections officials said they could not find Hege’s probation release papers with his office filing papers, Hege said he was confident that papers restoring his citizenship are on file.
“Those are the last papers you get as probation ends,” Hege said. “It’s just a matter of getting a copy of it.”
Last week, the board determined that the group’s petition was a protest and not a challenge allowed within 10 days after a candidate files for an office. The board decided to hear constitutional and statutory arguments against Hege’s candidacy.
“This is all about the Constitution,” Hege said. “It goes back to that.”
Hege has contended that the firearms argument is not an issue. “There is no state law I know of that requires a sheriff to carry a firearm,” Hege said. “The president of the United States and the governor do not carry one. Each deputy has qualifications to carry a firearm.”
Hege resigned as sheriff in 2004 after pleading guilty to two felony counts of obstruction of justice for attempting to cover up money missing from the vice and narcotics unit of the sheriff’s department.
dnivens@hpe.com | 888-3626
"No one has told me what they are afraid of except using the felon theory." Hege has been proven to be a thief and a liar. He has also proven that he is willing to abuse the power that comes with the position of sheriff. - Be "afraid" of that!
Stover, why don't you check her out.
No one has told me what they are afraid of except using the felon theory.
All these Tough on Crime Hege Supporters are nothing but hypocrites. If they were really tough on crime they wouldn't want a criminal as sheriff.
Gerald Hege stole money. Gerald Hege lied about the money he stole. Gerald Hege used his position to thwart the investigation into the money he stole and he used his position to try and intimidate the honest cops who were just doing their job and investigating the crimes Hege committed. As a result of all these things Hege was indicted on 15 Felony charges and was facing prison time. Hege was guilty - Hege knew he was guilty and despite his "NO DEALS" slogan he cut a deal to avoid prison.
Every thing in the previous paragraph is a fact. Now, if you know all of this about Gerald Hege and you still want him to be your sheriff it say's more about you than him.
The question still remains, why is Hege doing this to himself? This is a straight line to jail, I can’t figure that one.
Also, someone needs to ask all the candidates, especially Hege, how they would enforce Article 54A, the Felony Firearms Act, § 14-415.1. Possession of firearms, etc.
The Felony Firearms Act.
§ 14-415.1. Possession of firearms, etc., by felon prohibited.
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person who has been convicted of a felony to purchase,
own, possess, or have in his custody, CARE, OR CONTROL any firearm or any weapon of mass death
and destruction as defined in G.S. 14-288.8.
Just Thinkin brought this up the other day and she/he is correct. The way the statute read's Hege will be breaking the law simply by taking the oath of office because, as Sheriff he will be in the "CARE, OR CONTROL" of numerous firearms.
As for Hege being "smarter than that" - Obviously he's not. If he was so smart he would have never got caught and charged with 15 FELONIES. 'Smart' criminals don't get caught, and make no mistake - Hege is a criminal, just not a very smart one.
And just a reminder for all you Hege supporters - What did he do when caught? He did what all criminals do. He cut a deal to save his own butt. Yep, that's right - Your big bad Sheriff, known for his "NO DEALS" attitude did exactly what All criminals do - He cut a deal.
It is nearly unbelievable that people would want a CRIMINAL as SHERIFF
idiot: a person of subnormal intelligence
having a mental age of three to seven years
people like you Hege does not want you vote. Who do you think would be the Sheriff Taylor of Davidson County?
Why don't you get on the bandwagon and try to clean up Raleigh?
The question is, why does he want to go to jail?
It's time for Hege to move on to another career path. He is no longer eligible to hold a law enforcement position of any type.