NAACP member hopes to prove eligibilty to run for office

Louis Overstreet says he has uncovered proof that he belongs on the ballot for Saturday's NAACP presidential election, but he has less than 24 hours to persuade national officials that he is right.

Overstreet's name was removed from the ballot after the NAACP's national office said there is no record that he had met a 180-day membership registration deadline for potential candidates.

According to Mark Clack, national field secretary for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, if a person was not registered as a member of the Las Vegas branch by July, he cannot run for an executive position on Saturday.

But Overstreet, a retired civil engineer, and his attorney Thomas Petersen, say they have proof that he did register as a member in time to run for office.

"We have uncovered irrefutable evidence that Mr. Overstreet is eligible to run," Petersen said. "We have a membership list from March 14, 1998, that shows he was a member. It was faxed to the National office by Kawiim Kawee and we have a sworn affidavit from him."

Kawee is the branch's immediate past first vice-president. He was suspended along with the immediate past president, the Rev. James Rogers, and the rest of the executive council in August for failing to file a year-end financial report.

"We are hoping that we can suspend the process so that all the various membership lists that are floating around can be wed so that all candidates can be put on the ballot and all members will have a chance to vote," Overstreet said. "That way whoever wins the victory will be certified."

Clack and Edward Lewis, Tri-State president for the NAACP branches in Utah, Nevada and Idaho, were expected to arrive in Las Vegas today for the election.

"The election will be on Saturday and hopefully when we're done it will bring a little peace to the branch," Lewis said from his office in Salt Lake City Thursday afternoon. "The election will be run by the national office, and we're hoping to have results by Saturday night."

Earlier in the week, Overstreet and Petersen had looked into filing a temporary restraining order to block the election but have moved off that stance in order to have the problem settled within the organization, Petersen said.

Lewis approves of that approach.

"The way to get a problem resolved is to state the problems to those in the organization," Lewis said Thursday.

If Overstreet is not reinstated to the ballot, the two candidates for the branch's presidency will be former Assemblyman Gene Collins and a past local NAACP president, the Rev. Jesse Scott.

The election will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Kelly Elementary School, 1900 N. J St.

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