Half who came to vote get turned away by NAACP By TOM RUE
MONTICELLO - After an election in which only half those who turned out expecting to vote were allowed to do so -- on November 18 the Sullivan County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People remained largely in the same hands which have guided it for 15 years. Elections are held every two years.
Thomas Mack defeated Carolyn Massey for president, 39 to 20. Albert Rembert of Liberty beat Jesse York for vice-president, 38 to 20. Rev. Willy Smith took the position of second vice-president without opposition; as did Agatha Hutson for third vice-president. Deborah Mack (wife of Thomas Mack) was re-elected secretary against Jenifer George, 41 to 17. Gordon Jenkins took the seat of treasurer over Enery Lugo, 36 to 15.
Of a crowd of about 150 which packed Monticello's neighborhood facility, in the end only 59 voted. Likewise, "about 60" were prevented from voting, said Onetta Toliver of Fallsburg, by a decision not to count a group which had allegedly registered by mail with the national office. Opponents argued that the national office will shortly forward a percentage of the dues paid to the Sullivan chapter, meaning that the 60 will in all likelihood then be recorded as members of the local chapter.
"I know national will accept them [the new members] because they've done it before," she claimed, displaying certified mail receipts and copies of checks which she said were sent to the Baltimore office. Thomas Mack denied having seen Toliver's copies of checks or receipts.
"National never notified us of those members. Mrs. Tolliver had no authority to send money to national. She should not have done this. It's sad that these people weren't able to vote. There was a very large turnout," Thomas Mack said.
"If our people could have voted, we would have won. All the people who I registered were turned away," said York after the vote.
Toliver said new members' checks were mailed to the national office because outgoing treasurer Bill James has attended few recent meetings and has been unavailable to accept them in person. James disputed this. "I would have gladly taken the funds. More people would have been allowed to vote. I don't know what they thought -- that we'd pull a funny? National NAACP has no billing cycle. They don't know who's a member and who's not. They just take the money," he asserted.
On the night of the election, James said the Sullivan chapter had 183 paid up members eligible to vote.
Thomas Mack said the chapter's constitution requires that members pay their dues through the local secretary in order to vote. He said he spoke with Mid-Hudson Regional director Harold Ramsay of Poughkeepsie about procedures before the election. Ramsay could not be reached by press-time.
"NAACP is not a black organization. NAACP is not an organization of any race, any color. Anyone who wants to pay their $10 and get involved can join us," Mack stated, noting that he has seen the local group grow from 15 in 1981 to "over 200."
Before the vote, Massey described her community work, urging support in bringing change to the organization. Describing her chief goal as unity, Massey admitted, "I know that's hard to believe at this point."
Tommie Toliver of Fallsburg, who helped organize the opposition slate, said after the vote was announced that a decision would be made shortly whether to contest the election results to the national board. Appeals may be filed within five days of the election, according to an NAACP procedure manual. If an appeal is filed, the manual states, operations of the local chapter -- including installation of officers -- could be suspended until the controversy is resolved.
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