Page 2 of 3

"Now there is not a person out there who doesn't know what a precinct is. They may not know the number of their precinct, but they know there are precincts in Mecklenburg County."

Did he ever think of leaving the party?

"Well, one, I think I can do more good for the people being a part of the party. And then, two, that's what some people would want me to do. Of course I'm not going to do what my detractors want."

And joining the GOP?

"I don't think that I could stomach that," he says with a laugh and adds that he learned a lot from the experience.

"The status quo has been going on for so long that it's time for a change. I didn't know just how much of a stronghold or a protective mentality that the 'powers that be' have on certain things. Even to the point where [County Commissioner] Parks Helms decided not to run again and had the nerve to pick someone to replace him, as if he gets that right. That's for the people to decide, and the people may decide that they don't want the person who Parks Helms chose because they may just be a puppet for Parks Helms."

According to Mackey, it's the same thing that happened when former Mecklenburg County Sheriff Jim Pendergraph left for his job with Homeland Security. "He thought he could appoint who he wanted, which he evidently could. He went and told the county commissioners: 'This is who I want.' And they fell in line like a row of ducks following him," he says.

So, does Mackey consider himself the sheriff -- or at least the former sheriff?

"No, no I don't," he replies, laughing. "Even though in the 2008 Directory of North Carolina County Officials I'm listed as the sheriff. The party had their hearing on that ... in February, and I said that we'd abide by whatever that decision was, even though the county commissioners didn't abide by that decision. But maybe those county commissioners won't be there because they don't represent their constitutes very well."

Mackey says the voters wanted the county commissioners to follow the rules that were laid out by the state party, which called for another election. Instead, Bailey was appointed sheriff.

Mackey filed a lawsuit against Mecklenburg County, and that suit is still pending. He and his attorneys have yet to make a decision about the state of the suit, and he hasn't ruled out running in a general election for Mecklenburg County sheriff one day. That day, however, isn't today.

Instead of dropping off the political landscape as he claims his detractors would've loved for him to do, Mackey is seeking another political office: a state house seat in District 99.

The reason he says he didn't "run and hide" following the sheriff's race is because he considers himself a role model. "If I'm not a role model for anybody else, I'm a role model for my son. What message would it send if I let the ... the media or anyone else who has an agenda run me off? That's going to do damage to a whole generation of people because it's going to discourage them from pursuing their dreams."

And Mackey says that he owes it to all of the people -- of all races -- who encouraged him to keep going.

"There's a lot of people who got involved when I asked them to come out and vote for me to get the sheriff's appointment; who did all of that and then their choice was totally disregarded, and their vote was ignored by the county commissioners. A lot of people out there felt thrown to the side. And for those folks, I could not throw up my hands and walk away and not do anything."

Huntersville Democratic Rep. Drew Saunders is the incumbent for the seat, so he and Mackey will face off during a primary May 6.

"What motivated me [to run for District 99] was the county commissioners," explains Mackey. "The county commissioners sat in their meeting hall every month and totally ignored what the people who elected them wanted to do. We're a representative form of government. The elected officials represent a section of people, and they are sent to either Washington, the state capital or to here. The county commission, the city council or the school board -- they are sent to their respective meeting places to do the will of their constituents; not to go in there and do whatever they want to. [The sheriff's race] just brought it back to everyone's attention. It's been going on for a long time ... they've been ignoring the people. Over the past couple of months, it was brought front and center and that's what motivated me."