*NOTE* This week's article is mainly a local issue but could apply to other counties in the country.
Are County Commissioner Election Rules Important?
As I have shared in previous articles, I have not been in Lamar County long. It'll be 3 years the end of next month God willing. It's been a pleasure getting to know people here. My wife has family that lives in the Vernon area.
Because of the nature of my outreach, I get involved in the local political arena as well. Districts 2 & 4 County Commissioner elections are coming up (March 5th I think). There's an issue involving the District 2 Commissioner and whether or not he actually lives with his wife in Mississippi while keeping his address in District 2. If he does live and sleep in MS, is he eligible to run for Commissioner? This allegedly happened after he was voted in, about 4 years ago. Alabama law says the candidate must reside in the district. It seems to me, and to those I have talked to about it so far, that the intent of that language is where the person actually lives and lays their head to sleep. And according to those same people, this Commissioner has never shared with them that he actually lives or sleeps in MS. If there is nothing wrong with it as long as the person at least has an address and pays taxes in his district, why hasn't there been "transparency" and "upfrontness" (is that even a word) about it?
To make matters worse, I have contacted the Ethics Commission, Secretary of State's Office, and Attorney General's Office, and none of them will take responsibility for dealing with this issue. The Secretary of State is also the Chief Elections Officer. Someone in the State needs to rule on whether a second address that's outside of his/her District and actually where they live and sleep, disqualifies a candidate or not.
Keep in mind that I write the articles about a week before you read it. Something might have changed during that time. It's possible that his Political Party locally will say he's not qualified to run as one of that Party's candidates.
As I've written here before, I have nothing personal against the District 2 Commissioner, any of the other Commissioners, or the Probate Judge. He may be doing a great job. But I am concerned about what is known by all involved, and if anything was said or tried by them. Supposedly, he has opposition and hopefully citizens in District 2 will not vote the incumbent back in because of this situation if he isn't disqualified. But in the opinion of this writer and Lamar County citizen, he shouldn't even be allowed on the ballot. By the way, I realize that only his District can vote for him, but this should not be just a District 2 concern since he votes on issues affecting the whole county.
Well, I know there are a lot of bigger fish to fry with all that's going on in our country. But we have to deal with local issues too when they arise. It's not about trying to dig up dirt on someone- the "dirt" presented itself even before I found out about it. But I think it would be good to see where our county and city elected officials stand on this local issue. Even if he has done a good job, because of the last 4 years and going forward with this alleged issue, if it is indeed true, I wouldn't vote for the District 2 Commissioner if he's allowed on the ballot even if I could, and don't think those who live in his District should vote for him either, but of course that's your business.
Again, nothing personal with him. He could run for office in the county and state he allegedly lives in or move his family to Lamar Co. District 2. I wish him the best! Until next time, Lord willing...
Pester Brat is the Founder & Director of the local La-Fayette Constitutional Patriots and national Concerned Constitutional Patriots of America (name change). Email: pesterbratdotcom@aol.com. Blog: pesterbratdotcom.blog spot.com. Facebook: Pester Brat & Bret Pester-Brat Lovitz. Twitter, Rumble, Vimeo, YouTube: Pester Brat.
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