New NAACP officers forced to wait

After being elected to the local NAACP presidency 11 days ago, former Assemblyman Gene Collins finds himself waiting to be sworn into office.

Collins and the other newly elected officers and executive committee members of the branch may be waiting as long as 30 days before they know if they will be sworn in or if election protests will keep them from holding office.

Meanwhile, four of eight elected executive committee members have declined to take office since the election, and Treasurer-elect Alfred Wiggs has resigned. Wiggs questioned the election and said he will support any protest by Louis Overstreet or the Rev. Jesse Scott.

They all will have to be patient.

"There is a five-day period following an election that allows for any protests to be filed," NAACP Tri-State president Edward Lewis said. "The protests we received fell in that period, and until they are fully investigated, the election results will not be certified."

The protests, which were filed by Collins' opponents, Scott and Overstreet, will be investigated by Lewis and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's national office.

NAACP by-laws allow for 30 days to investigate election protests, Lewis said.

The protest filed by Overstreet, a retired civil engineer, addresses three points.

Scott also has filed a protest, but he has not disclosed its contents.

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