This weekend a full page newspaper ad encouraged voters to re-elect Tom Bayliss, Mayor of New Bern. The ad also said voters could call the mayor's number at city hall, for a ride to the polls.
Tomorrow voters will decide who they what to be the mayor in New Bern. The Mayor says his family members made a bad mistake in a campaign ad.
The ad to re-elect Tom Bayliss states voters can call the mayor's line at city hall for a ride to the polls.
City ordinances state no employee can use any supplies or equipment for political or partisan purposes.
The city manager says there's no penalty for elected officials that don't follow the ordinance. Mayor Bayliss says a family member created his ad and mistakenly put the city hall number in it.
This morning Bayliss had the phone line disconnected. Challenger Lee Bettis asked Bayliss to cut off the phone line. Voter Tony Bonnici tried to file a complaint about the ad with the city.
He said, "I feel that it doesn't matter who you are whether you're the lowest employee in the city or at the top of the food chain nobody has the right to violate ordinances. Ordinance is the law and it should apply to everyone equally."
The Bettis campaign is not making a big deal about this. In fact Bettis said his campaign did not plan to bring any attention to this until after tomorrow's election.
Bayliss also says he did not design the ad or carefully go over it before it went to the Sun Journal.
Bayliss received the most votes in the primary, with 49 percent of the vote. Bettis won 45 percent.
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