Candidate for Allenville trustee disqualified from election

A man running for a seat on the Allenville Board of Trustees in the April 8 election cannot hold a public office because he is currently serving a five-year probation sentence on a felony conviction.

Edward D. Williams, 40, of 380 Penny, Chaffee, Mo., will not be allowed to hold a position on the board after being convicted for possession of ephedrine with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine.

State resolution 561.021 prohibits any convicted felon from holding office until completing his or her sentence or probation, said Betsy Byers, co-director of elections for the Secretary of State's office.

Williams is one of four people running for three spots on the board. The others are Darlene Thompson, Albert Cook and Susan Cabaniss.

Byers said that if Williams is elected, the board will have to appoint someone to fill his position. The board wouldn't be required to appoint the fourth candidate, she said.

Can't be removed

Patty Schlosser, election supervisor for Cape Girardeau County, said Williams could not be removed from the ballot because he filed within six weeks of the election.

Williams does not have a listed telephone number and the county clerk's office did not have a phone number listed on his filing form. Williams could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Records show that Williams was sentenced on May 21, 1999, for five years incarceration with the Department of Corrections after Williams entered a guilty plea for intent to manufacture methamphetamine on Dec. 14, 1998. He is currently serving a five-year probation sentence, an official with the Department of Probation and Parole said. The sentence will be finished on May 21, 2004.

Williams was also sentenced to four days in the county jail in 1995 for animal neglect and to 21 days in the county jail in 1996 for unlawful use of a weapon.

bmiller@semissourian.com

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