Despite facing felony charges in the shooting death of his wife, Claud “Tex” McIver continues to serve on a powerful board overseeing state election issues.
» Judge allows sale of Diane McIver's furs, jewels
State leaders say they are vetting a short list of candidates to replace the prominent attorney who has served some 12 years on the State Board of Elections. But it’s unclear when that replacement will occur.
That hardly satisfied some African-American activists who object to McIver's continued service on the board. They assert that he should not serve while under a cloud of criminal charges, and that his doing so is an example of a white, wealthy and politically connected person receiving special treatment.
"If this was someone else, they would not be in the position of serving on the State Elections Board, or even going home at night," said state Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta. By that, Fort said he believes the person would be in jail.
McIver shot his wife in the back as the couple rode in their SUV near Piedmont Park on Sept. 25. He was in the back seat and she in the front when, according to McIver, he accidentally pulled the trigger on his .38-caliber revolver. Diane McIver died later that night at the hospital.
McIver was charged in late December with involuntary manslaughter, a felony, and reckless conduct, a misdemeanor. The case has yet to go before a grand jury for consideration of an indictment.
McIver and his attorney have said the shooting of Diane McIver, a successful businesswoman, was an accident that does not warrant criminal charges.
He has no plans to resign from the elections board.
"I think I'm a significant contributor to the State Elections Board," McIver said in an exclusive interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in November. "I'm one of the few Georgians that actually know the Georgia election code."
McIver spokesman Jeff Dickerson said McIver has received no special treatment.
“He is still required to wear an ankle bracelet. He spent two nights in jail, instead of being bonded out immediately,” Dickerson said. “That is not a double standard.”
Even as McIver serves as vice chairman of the State Elections Board, he has quietly retired from the labor law firm of Fisher Phillips.
McIver had been the target of ire from African-American activists long before the shooting incident. While on the elections board, he supported the state’s Voter ID law, which drew opposition from the minority community.
The relationship was further strained after the shooting when a McIver spokesman, Bill Crane, said that McIver had initially pulled out a handgun in his SUV because he feared he had come upon a Black Lives Matter rally.
That angered Francys Johnson, the head of the Georgia NAACP.
"I think he should step down" from the elections board, Johnson said. Johnson criticized McIver for "unnecessarily trying to besmirch Black Lives Matter."
McIver asserts he never uttered the statement about the group, Dickerson, his spokesman, said Thursday.
But Crane told the AJC on Thursday that McIver did make the statement. Crane said McIver had explained to him at the time that he had just woken up as his vehicle, driven by a family friend, pulled off the Downtown Connector onto Edgewood Avenue. McIver saw some people and didn't know whether they were homeless people or activists from Black Lives Matter. Some looked threatening and appeared to be approaching the car, Crane said.
“The words were spoken,” Crane said.
McIver was appointed to the State Elections Board by the state Senate. Ines Owens of the Senate Press Office said McIver is being replaced because his latest term is ending. Traditionally, such replacements occur at the end of the session of the state Legislature, around April.
The board’s five members typically meet every quarter. McIver did not attend the meeting in December, said board member David Worley. The group usually meets one time during the Legislative session.
The board deals with various issues, such as complaints about voter registration, absentee ballots, in-person voting, polling place conduct, and county election operations.
Should McIver be convicted of the felony, he would be ineligible to hold office under state law.
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