Nifong may yet face challenger

A county commissioner considers a write-in run for Durham DA

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CORRECTION

The deadline for submitting a valid petition to authorize a write-in candidacy was incorrect in a story Monday on Page 1B about a potential write-in candidacy in the Durham County district attorney race. The correct deadline is Aug. 9, according to Durham County elections director Mike Ashe.

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DURHAM -- A Durham lawyer and county commissioner is considering a write-in election campaign to try and unseat District Attorney Mike Nifong, the prosecutor overseeing the investigation of a rape accusation involving three members of the Duke University lacrosse team.

The case has generated headlines across the nation about Duke and Durham, and Nifong's role in the case has become the subject of almost nightly segments on some national cable news shows. Much of it is critical of Nifong's performance.

In an interview Sunday, Commissioner Lewis Cheek said he has been recruited to challenge Nifong.

"I am looking at it," Cheek said, "and ... it means I'm seriously thinking about it. I need to look at it from every angle and think about what is the right thing to do."

He said he will decide within about two weeks -- in time to meet a June 30 deadline for being eligible as a candidate.

Nifong could not be reached by telephone Sunday.

Cheek's acknowledgement of a possible challenge to Nifong is the result of weeks of behind-the-scenes effort in Durham to persuade someone to oppose Nifong.

Cheek, 55, is a former two-term Durham City Council member and was mayor pro tem for one term. He has been a member of the county Board of Commissioners since 2004.

A trial lawyer, Cheek worked for a large corporate firm, Moore and Van Allen, until opening a private practice three years ago. Cheek's law office now includes six lawyers and focuses mainly on civil cases.

He received his bachelor's degree and law degree from Wake Forest University.

Cheek, a Democrat, is undefeated as a candidate for public office in Durham. He beat incumbent Ty Cox to first win a seat on the council in 1999 and beat incumbent Joe Bowser to take a seat on the board of commissioners in 2004.

Nifong, a career assistant prosecutor for more than 27 years, was elevated to the top prosecuting job in the county in 2005.

He faced two challengers last month in the Democratic primary. Nifong won with 45 percent of the vote.

No Republican is on the ballot in November, and so the job is Nifong's for a four-year term unless a petition drive successfully allows for a write-in choice or puts another name on the ballot, said Mike Ashe, Durham's elections director.

Ashe said he was recently contacted about the proper procedure for a challenge in the D.A. race.

Cheek said Sunday that Nifong's role in the Duke lacrosse case would not be all that he focused on, should he run.

"It goes beyond one case," Cheek said. "It's how you handle the responsibilities of the office and do you appropriately handle the duties."

On the lacrosse case, Cheek said that he did not want to judge it without seeing all information, though he believes Nifong has contributed to a situation that has hurt Durham.

"Yes, I am disgruntled about what has happened," Cheek said. "My feeling in the way that things need to be approached is that there needs to be a neutral point of view until all of the information is gathered."

Cheek would not identify who is recruiting him to run, but said it is not people connected to Duke or the lacrosse team.

"This is from people who live in Durham, and have been in Durham a long time, and are concerned about Durham," Cheek said. "They are not obsessed with the Duke case and they are not from the outside."

One of those involved is Dan Hill, a former City Council member and current chairman of Durham's Cardinal State Bank.

Hill, who owns an insurance business in Durham, is a Duke University graduate and prominent Duke supporter.

"I am very excited about that possibility for Durham -- about Lewis running -- to give people another option for D.A.," Hill said Sunday.

Hill was more blunt than Cheek in criticizing Nifong. Hill focused on the actions of Nifong in the first days that the lacrosse case became public.

Nifong gave frequent interviews then and "had people believing without any question that a rape had occurred," Hill said.

"Now, as the story has unfolded, there are a great deal of us who are not sure of that," he said. "I don't believe it's the role of the D.A. to be out there first like that. ... We can't afford to have a D.A. who makes these kinds of mistakes, if they turn out to be mistakes."