(NC) Bill seeks to bar felons as sheriffs

[ccharles000]

North Carolina's sheriffs are lining up in support of a state Senate bill that seeks to bar convicted felons from being sworn in as sheriffs.

The bill, introduced by Sen. Stan Bingham of Davidson County appears to be aimed squarely at the candidacy of fellow Republican Gerald Hege for sheriff in the senator's home county.

Hege served as sheriff in Davidson from 1994 to 2004, when he was forced to resign after being indicted on 15 felony counts for corruption.

Though as a convicted felon he is forbidden from owning a firearm or serving as a sworn deputy, there is apparently no law on the books that would bar Hege from being sworn in as sheriff.

http://projects.newsobserver.com/under_the_dome/bill_seeks_to_bar_felons_as_sheriffs

[LiberalFighter]

1. After all these years it was permissible for felons to hold an elected office?

Wow!!

Is the Sheriff position the only elected position that allowed felons?

Here in Indiana absolutely no felon can hold elected office. Unless they have been pardoned.

[IDFbunny]

4. Seems anti-democratic to me.

Let the voters choose who they want. The voters will weigh his/her record.

[LiberalFighter]

6. You do know that this country is not a democracy?

If it was we be voting on every bill in Congress instead of the Representatives and Senators.

If we were a democracy we would had direct election of the President instead of via the state legislatures in the beginning.

[damntexdem]

2. Bar felons as sheriffs in NC? I thought it was a REQUIREMENT.

;-)

[brewens]

3. My yokel sheriff is a felon now. He fell off his horse

(I am not making this up)during a rodeo parade because he was drunk. Deputies discovered empty beer cans in his car.
He then took a leave of absence because of pancreatic cancer, he claimed. About this time he was being investigated for some kind of involvement with kids doing burglary's. He ran and was arrested in Louisiana and extradited.
I'm actually not sure what his official status is now. He may not have actually been convicted yet.

[LiberalFighter]

7. Has to be convicted on felony charges before consider a felon.

[brewens]

8. I thought I knew and he was convicted. It was the drunken falling

off the horse part I was enjoying telling the most.
Dorion was actually a friend of mine from high school. He had a drinking problem that I was aware of for years. It's too bad, because he was a really nice guy but he let a lot of us down. If I ever see him again I'll let it go.
http://www2.state.id.us/ag/newsrel/2009/nr_aug112009.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEdRr-tf3ig&feature=youtube_gdata

[Edweird]

5. Sounds reasonable to me.

[RB TexLa]

9. Can't let the people decide that can we? I thought Republicans trusted the people not the

government.