I am a resident of the small town of Dublin (and) it has been brought to my attention that my name, as well as many others, have been listed by Mr. Richard Sibbett to discredit our vote in this year’s town election.

Richard has gone so far as to say that my vote, along with others, should not have counted in this election because we were not legal residents of the town of Dublin. Richard has gathered information from the application called “people finder” and came up with the conclusion that I live at a Bladenboro address on Willoughby Road.

The malicious assumption without credible evidence that I or any other hard-working resident of this town would commit voter fraud is appalling and makes it even harder to believe that he would be a suitable candidate for public office. While he may have the right to protest the election one would hope that he would do so based off substantial evidence from a credible source. The application that he has chosen to use as his source of information is mediocre and laughable at most.

The Bladenboro address that he has listed for me just happens to be my mother’s address and I haven’t lived at said address since the age of 16. In fact, I have been a resident of Dublin ever since 2011 at a residence on Eighth Street and, ever since I became of age to vote, if Jeff smith was a candidate in the election he had my vote.

Instead of wasting tax dollars on baseless assumptions, Mr. Smith has done wonders for our community. Not only has Mr. Smith brought revenue into this town but he has provided jobs and improved the overall look of the town. One may say the town of Dublin has given Mr. Smith a lot, but in turn, Mr. Smith has given back to this community in ways your average commissioner wouldn’t. In fact, I honestly can’t name one individual that currently holds a seat in public office that values the interest of the people while making ethical decisions based on sound judgement as Mr. Smith has done in the years I have known him.

I am proud to have Jeff Smith as my town commissioner and I am certainly disappointed in the latest attempt to throw dirt on his name along with the names of some of Dublin’s finest citizens. Personally, I feel attacked by Richard’s efforts to discredit our election process and furthermore feel that he should be made to repay every penny of tapayer money that will be spent in this investigation.

This was a slap in the face to many of us and just goes to show Richard is a sore loser and refuses to swallow his pride at taxpayer expense. You can’t win them all Mr. Sibbett and I hope everyone who has voted for you sees who you really are. I have also submitted a photo copy of my state-issued ID to the Bladen Journal showing my address in Dublin. Last time I checked the DMV didn’t just hand those out without proving your residence.

If any other information is requested of me I will be glad to provide it but this should be sufficient evidence to discredit these accusations. I hope that the rest named on his “list” will follow suit.

Christopher McLaughlin

Dublin