2 attorneys may challenge Nifong

In response to a recent wave of public concern, two potential challengers have placed District Attorney Mike Nifong's controversial quest for re-election back in the limelight.

Steve Monks, chairman of the Republican party for Durham County, and County Commissioner Lewis Cheek, a Democrat, have both announced their intentions to seek spots on the ballot for November's district attorney general election.

"The folks here in Durham deserve a choice," Monks said. "There's a lot of question in the public at this time about the confidence in [Nifong] and his ability to do his duties."

Monks announced his interest Monday in challenging Nifong, following Cheek, who has not formally confirmed his candidacy but expressed interest in running last week.

Nifong is currently running unopposed.

The district attorney-who has recently received sharp criticism for his public handling of rape allegations against members of the men's lacrosse team before charges were made-won the three-person Democratic primary in May with 45 percent of the vote. No Republican candidates participated in the race.

Monks and Cheek must each collect signatures from 6,303 registered voters by June 30 in order to have their names on the November ballot.

Regardless of their current party registrations, the challengers will be classified on the ballot as "unaffiliated" if they receive the necessary number of signatures, explained Mike Ashe, director of elections for Durham County.

Ashe, who said that he has not witnessed similar circumstances in his six years as director of elections, added that if either candidate fails to collect the names, that candidate can enter the race as a write-in.

The option requires the challenger to collect signatures from 100 registered voters by Aug. 9.

Monks, however, said he will not continue to pursue the position if he does not collect the necessary signatures by next Friday.

"Durham needs to put this decision to bed," Monks said.

"A write-in campaign would just prolong the suffering," he added.

Both challengers said they considered opposing Nifong on the basis of recent concerns over the district attorney's conduct.

"I had a number of people in the community who asked me to think about it," Cheek said. "They raised some issues to me over some of the things the district attorney had to say and some of the things he had done."

Cheek, who said he had never considered running for the position before the controversy emerged, said the wave of public encouragement was the deciding factor in his campaign for candidacy.

Monks, however, said he contemplated filling the office for quite some time.

He added that debate over Nifong's behavior affects the future credibility of the role of the district attorney and "highlights concern about a bigger picture."

Cheek said the same, noting that the recent controversy has raised general questions about how any district attorney should handle cases in a public arena.

"The issues are issues that go far beyond the Duke lacrosse case," Cheek said. "The district attorney is a representative of the people of the state of North Carolina and needs to approach every situation in a very neutral way."