WRAL Investigates

Raleigh council candidate's name removed from ballot

The Wake County Board of Elections decided Thursday to remove the name of Raleigh City Council candidate Lent Carr II from the October ballot.

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RALEIGH, N.C. — The Wake County Board of Elections decided Thursday to remove the name of Raleigh City Council candidate Lent Carr II from the October ballot.

Carr, 37, was sentenced last week to seven months in federal prison for violating his parole on a 2000 fraud conviction.

The board also says Carr registered, updated his registration and voted while on parole, all of which are felonies. The board is referring its evidence to the district attorney.

Carr was running for the District C seat on Raleigh City Council. Community activist Bruce Lightner on Monday filed a challenge to his candidacy in an effort to keep Carr's name off the ballot.

Lightner claimed that Carr's status as a felon serving time in federal prison should preclude people from voting for him.

Carr was convicted of bank and mail fraud related to insurance payments following a fire at his church that authorities determined had been set.

A federal judge found that he violated his parole by pleading guilty in February to assaulting his stepson and by failing to meet with his parole officer or with a mental health counselor.

Prosecutors also expressed concerns that Carr has been soliciting donations to his campaign by misrepresenting himself to the public.

A WRAL News investigation found that Carr overstated his background, listing degrees on his campaign website and other sites that he didn't earn and touting experience as a law clerk without noting that he was a prison inmate at the time.

In addition to his federal convictions, Carr has state convictions for obtaining property by false pretenses and passing worthless checks.

Other candidates for the District C seat in the Oct. 11 election include Corey Branch, Shelia Jones, Paul F. Terrell III, Eugene Weeks and Racquel Williams.

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