School Board: In Ward 5, a Mystery Sample Ballot

Ward 5 Democrats sent out sample ballots for the election that listed only one of the three candidates running for Ward 5 state board of education.

Robert Vinson Brannum was the only candidate listed on the sample ballot, while Mark Jones and Angel Alston were left off.

Jones, who became aware of the oversight while visiting the polls, believes it may be, in effect, an informal endorsement of Brannum.

"Win or lose, it taints the process," Jones said.

Ward 5 Democrats president Timothy Thomas said he doesn't know how or why the two candidates were omitted, and he said the ballot should not be considered an endorsement of Brannum.

But even if it was not deliberate, he suggested, it's not surprising.

"Politics in the city, as they say," said Thomas, an advisory neighborhood commissioner seeking reelection for single member district 5A08.

Timothy Wilson