We did criminal background checks on 300 candidates. Here’s who’s been charged.
To give readers more comprehensive information about who they may vote for, The News & Observer ran criminal background checks on more than 300 candidates in the fall elections. That includes candidates for the 170 seats in the North Carolina General Assembly.
Our research found two pending criminal cases for legislative candidates. We also identified candidates who, in the past 20 years, have been convicted of crimes other than minor offenses and traffic violations. We set aside earlier convictions, as well as charges that did not result in a conviction. Here’s what documents show and what the candidates say.
Gun charges
Sherrie Young, a Democrat running in Guilford County for the state House, has pending gun charges. Her case stemming from November 2021 includes two misdemeanor charges: for discharging a firearm in city limits and for “going armed to the terror of people.”
The N&O previously reported her lawyer, Jason L. Keith, said on Young’s behalf: “She believes in her right to bear arms, and her right to protect herself and her household from unlawful intruders.”
According to a Greensboro Police Department incident report, an officer was called to Ian Drive on the night of Nov. 7, 2021, for someone firing a handgun. There were no reported injuries related to the incident, according to the report. The only witness listed was the officer.
After being postponed, Young’s case will be heard in Guilford County court in December. Young and Keith did not respond to a request for further comment on her case.
Domestic violence case
Christopher Baker is the Republican candidate for Senate District 14 in Wake County. He is running against longtime Democratic incumbent Sen. Dan Blue and Libertarian Matthew Laszacs.
Baker has a court date in January on charges from April 2021 of felony stalking and misdemeanor violation of a domestic violence order.
Baker has talked about the charges on his campaign Facebook page, including a post from March 26 describing “a false arrest on a political candidate.” In an email to The News & Observer, Baker said: “It is about time a candidate who has been through the system pointing out their errors make changes with a fresh set of eyes to push for jail and prison reform of inmates. Our community is safer with people who don’t just get out of jail and reoffend.”
READ MORE: We’re questioning candidates in 170 districts across NC, and making their answers free
DWI convictions
▪ State Rep. Abe Jones, a Wake County Democrat running for reelection, was convicted of driving while impaired in 2014. He was sentenced to probation and community service.
He spoke to The N&O about the case when he was running for a judicial seat. Jones was in private practice when he was convicted of driving while impaired from a 2013 Wilmington arrest, The N&O previously reported.
Jones said then that he was trying to help a friend who should not have been driving, either.
“It happened. I made a mistake. I’m not proud of it,” Jones said then, and added he had fulfilled community service and other requirements of his sentence.
Jones faces Libertarian candidate Christopher Mizelle in House District 38. Contacted recently by The N&O, Jones referred to his 2014 comments.
▪ In the state Senate District 13 race, Wake County Republican candidate David Bankert was convicted in 2008 of a DWI. He was sentenced to probation and community service.
Bankert told The N&O that the conviction is “false,” that he fought it through the state appeals court. He also disputes the arresting police officer’s narrative, claiming there were exaggerations and lies.
“Had I felt I was truly guilty of DWI I would have gone into court on the first day in court, pleaded guilty and taken my licks. This conviction was false,” Bankert said. He called the experience “eye-opening.”
“Today I can now mightily relate to people who have had injustice perpetrated upon them by the system,” he said.
Bankert is running against Democrat Lisa Grafstein and Libertarian Michael Curtis Munger.
▪ Ray Ubinger of Durham is the Libertarian candidate on the ballot for state Senate District 22. Records show he was found guilty of a DWI in 2011 and received probation and a fine. His license was surrendered.
Ubinger, who did not respond to an emailed request for comment and could not be reached by phone, is running against incumbent Democratic Sen. Mike Woodard and Republican Larry Coleman.
Tax charge
James Powers, the Republican candidate for state Senate District 16, is running against Democrat Gale Adcock and Libertarian Dee Watson for the western Wake County seat.
Powers pleaded guilty to failure to file income taxes in 2007. He said it would have cost more to fight it.
Powers, who lives in Cary, told The N&O that the charge stemmed from having problems with software and his accountant transferring data that wasn’t fixed in time to file his business’ taxes, and that he told the IRS and the N.C. Department of Revenue ahead of time. Powers said that while the IRS was patient, the state was not and had filed charges against him for not filing taxes.
Powers said he went to court and agreed to pay the state an $11,500 fine, which records show also included probation. He pleaded guilty to the Class I misdemeanor of failure to file. Power said he did pay all his owed taxes, including offering to pay the state early when he didn’t know exactly how much he would owe.
“I just left it alone at that point. And that’s that, and the IRS never charged me a fine, but the N.C. Department of Revenue went to the extreme. I hope they spent the $11,500 wisely,” Powers said.
For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Under the Dome politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it at https://campsite.bio/underthedome or wherever you get your podcasts.
This story was originally published October 8, 2022 at 8:12 AM with the headline "We did criminal background checks on 300 candidates. Here’s who’s been charged.."
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story left out the first name of candidate Michael Curtis Munger.
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