Posted on 12/14/2005 1:18:43 PM PST by NormsRevenge
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) - A local school board will ask a newly elected member to resign because he is a convicted felon and is in prison.
The board of the Romoland School District voted Tuesday to take steps to ensure that Randy L. Hale doesn't take the seat he won last month while serving time for violating parole.
He has convictions for robbery, burglary, domestic abuse and drug possession that date to the mid-1980s.
If Hale refuses to resign, the district could contest the election and file a lawsuit asking a court to decide Hale's election status.
Hale did not attend as two other trustees-elect were sworn into office, although a seat and nameplate were provided for him. He has been imprisoned since Sept. 21 at the California Institution for Men in Chino and is scheduled to be released on Feb. 15.
Hale was elected to the five-member board on Nov. 8 with 974 votes. Hale had registered to vote and filed for candidacy, even though under state law convicted felons cannot register to vote. He is under investigation by the California Election Fraud Investigation Unit.
His wife, Penny, said her husband should be allowed to serve in the school district about 70 miles north of San Diego.
"He can't even defend himself here. He won fair and square, and he didn't lie about anything," she said.
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Information from: The Press-Enterprise, http://www.pe.com
They will have to find a felon not in prison to replace him.
Any better comment aboyut the ignorance of the average voter?
Does the voter registration form ask whether you're a convicted felon? If so, he must've lied, contrary to what his wife said.
Some of the members of Congress says it all.
Wonder if they'll manage to wrap it up before he gets out on Feb 15?
They're doing this in Ca? A place where most people believe Tookie Williams was innocent?
Yeah - best this guy step down from the school board so that he can pursue Congressional office next year.
The voters who elected this man should have their names listed for all to see how smart they are. Secret ballots lead to unaccountability. Ballots were not always secret in this country. When they went secret we started top lose control of the government. People should be proud of the decisions they make as part of our system of self government.
This story would be really funny if it wern't so pathetic.
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