Supreme Court stays earlier order of removal, special election until further notice
Alvin Nelson has returned to his seat on the Waycross City Commission, and the District 5 entry on the General Election ballot has been pulled after an order Friday by the Georgia Supreme Court.
The court granted Nelson’s motion to stay Ware County Superior Court’s orders on the suit brought by incumbent District 5 Commissioner Henry Strickland challenging the results of the November 7, 2023 voting between he and Nelson. The decision in May by Senior Judge Gary McCorvey on Strickland’s suit removed Nelson from the seat and ordered a special election, which was scheduled for Tuesday, November 5.
Nelson’s attorneys appealed Mc-Corvey’s decision and later filed a motion to stay the superior court order pending the Supreme Court hearing the case. The appeal has been entered on the Supreme Court’s November docket.
Meanwhile, Nelson, who won the seat by 18 votes, participated in Monday’s commission planning and information session. He assumed a seat in the City Hall chamber after Acting City Attorney Huey Spearman read the Supreme Court’s order into the meeting’s record.
“I’m humbled and pleased about the decision,” Nelson said Monday afternoon. “Waycross needs a full, or as close to full, commission as possible. There’s the budget that still needs passed as well as the general business. We’re all in this together and if it doesn’t work for one it doesn’t work for any.
“Even if this is temporary until a final decision is made, I’m happy at this point the city will be able to do business easier.”
The Supreme Court’s order,, dated September 13 read: “Appellant Alvin Nelson appealed from two orders issued by the Superior Court of Ware County on May 2, 2024.
“One of those orders granted appellee Henry Strickland’s petition challenging the results of the November 7, 2023 election for District 5 City Commissioner for Waycross, Georgia, and scheduled a new election for November 5, 2024.
“The other order denied Nelson’s motion to dismiss Strickland’s petition for insufficient process and insufficient service of process. We docketed Nelson’s appeal of both orders on July 31, 2024.
“Nelson has now moved for a stay of the superior court’s orders pending appeal. Upon consideration of the motion and the responses from the appellees, the motion is hereby GRANTED and the orders on appeal are STAYED until further notice from this Court.” The court’s decision on the motion to stay was unanimous. Chief Justice Mike Boggs, a native of Ware County, did not participate.
Nelson
Spearman said the justices likely would hear oral arguments in the case early in November. He didn’t want to speculate when the parties may receive a ruling.
Strickland, who defeated Nelson in a runoff in 2019 to win the District 5 seat, cited the use of incorrect maps to determine voting districts as the foundation of his challenge of the 2023 vote. The Ware County Board of Elections and Registration acknowledged that fact when the case went before McCorvey in early April.
McCorvey, retired from the Tifton Judicial Circuit, was assigned the case by the Waycross Judicial Circuit after Strickland filed the challenge November 17, 2023, following certification of the vote by the Board of Elections. The count board is contracted by the city to conduct its elections.
The District 5 entry was one of two on November’s ballot. The other for the District 1 post of the late Norman E. Davis, remains with Shawn L. Roberts, Willie E. Oliver and Jené E. Walker vying for the seat.
