Delta candidate bumped from ballot

DELTA, Mo. -- A convicted felon resigned Monday from the Delta Board of Aldermen and withdrew as a candidate on the April ballot after questions surfaced about his qualifications to serve. A second incumbent alderman seeking re-election was barred from the ballot for failure to pay property taxes.

Rickey D. Cobb, 50, has been an alderman since Sept. 11. On Jan. 1, a new state law barred convicted felons from qualifying as a candidate. When the Southeast Missourian questioned Cobb about his past after the town's slate of candidates was certified to the Cape Girardeau County Clerk, Cobb said he was unaware of the law.

"I don't think we need to be discussing that," he said of his felony conviction.

A check of records at the Cape Girardeau County Circuit Clerk's office showed Cobb pleaded guilty to methamphetamine possession and driving while revoked in 2002. He was placed on probation for five years. The charge is based on an arrest made in 1999. Cobb pleaded guilty after being apprehended on a fugitive warrant in early 2002. Cobb is currently facing misdemeanor charges of driving while intoxicated and driving while revoked.

City clerk Billie Snowden had made inquiries at the county clerk's office about Cobb's eligibility and certified his name as a candidate. She did so because she believed that a new state law barring anyone with a felony conviction from running for public office didn't apply to fourth-class cities. Carrie Bebermeyer of the Missouri Secretary of State's office said attorneys in the office are researching whether the law, which took effect Jan. 1, applies to Class 4 cities like Delta and whether it applies to felony convictions prior to 2007.

Mayor Carol Collins announced Cobb's resignation at a Board of Aldermen meeting Monday. She also announced that her brother-in-law, Dale Hobeck, whose appointment in August could become subject of a nepotism investigation, has decided "on advice of counsel" to stop attending board meetings. Hobeck remains on the ballot for a two-year term in Ward 1. He was opposed by Cobb.

Collins declined to comment after the meeting on whether she had received any legal advice regarding the appointment of Hobeck. Board minutes don't detail who made the appointments, but witnesses at the meeting have said Collins named Hobeck to the board, an apparent violation of the state constitutional ban on nepotism.

Tax bill

Alderman Dennis "Slim" Bowers was bumped off the Delta ballot when a check of his county tax records showed he had not paid real estate taxes for 2005 and 2006 and had not paid his personal property taxes for 2006.

According to records in the Cape Girardeau County collector's office. Bowers owes a total of $758.59 in taxes. Of that amount, $77.81 is due to Delta.

Bowers hasn't given up on getting elected, though. "I think there is still a way around it," he said Monday. "I think you can be written in and still do it."

Bowers, appointed to the board in April 2006, was seeking a two-year term on the board.

All four aldermen are serving as appointees following resignations of past members. Both the seats where terms expire in April and the seats where there is still a year to run must be filled April 3. The withdrawal of Cobb leaves Hobeck as the lone candidate for a two-year term in Ward 1, with former mayor Hughes Lesch the sole candidate for the one-year post. With Bowers off the ballot, there is no candidate for a two-year term in Ward 2, where incumbent Bonnie Bradshaw faces challenger Harold Looney for a one-year slot.

Deadline today

Today is the deadline for local political subdivisions to deliver their ballot lists to the county clerk's office. John Graham, who filed to be elected mayor of Jackson, is the only other filed candidate who was removed from the ballot lists so far, said Patty Schlosser, director of elections for Cape Gir-ardeau County. Graham also had failed to pay his property taxes by Jan. 16, the last day to file as a candidate.

Bowers took his seat following the 2006 election when four candidates tied with one write-in vote each. None of those who received votes showed up for the board meeting following the election, and Bowers volunteered and was seated. According to state law, when no candidate is certified for a particular seat, voters may write in the name of anyone they wish.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611 extension 126