On November 15, 2005, Brunswick mayoral candidate Elaine Brown filed a petition in the Glynn County Superior Court to contest the results of the November 8, 2005, municipal election. The grounds were fraud and misconduct by the Glynn County Board of Elections and that mayor-elect Bryan Thompson was ineligible to hold office because of the irremediable conflict of interest with his being CEO and President of Blueprint Brunswick, Inc.
After a December 1, 2005, hearing before Judge Tom Pope was continued to December 19, 2005, Brown also filed a Motion to Recuse Judge Pope. This was based on what Brown characterized as Pope's inappropriate communications with Brunswick attorney Austin Catts, who represents Thompson, and because it had been the same Judge Pope who had erroneously upheld the Board of Elections' decisions to remove her name from the municipal ballot and the voting rolls.
Given that Pope refused to recuse himself, and that a host of powerful lawyers, led by Catts, had lined up forcefully for Thompson and the Board, filing myriad motions to dismiss the case and sanction Brown, Brown capitulated. On December 16, 2005, Brown filed a Voluntary Dismissal Without Prejudice in the case, thus ending it.-Relatedly, other contestants did the same, including Zack Lyde and Betsy Bean.
"IT'S NOT OVER!"
Brown, who has been pursuing her legal remedies without benefit of counsel, still has other, related cases pending, including her appeal in the state appellate court and her petition to the federal district court to remove the case from state court.
In the meantime, Brown says, "I'm down, but not out. It's not over!" Suggesting that not only will she pursue her legal options but also continue her campaign to "empower the people," Brown concluded: "The injustice done to me in this election pales in comparison to the ongoing inequities suffered by black and poor people in Brunswick. I will continue to fight for the rights of our people, in the courts, in the streets and in future elections."
