Former Jackson mayoral candidate will not be placed back on ballot after losing lawsuit

The field in the contest for mayor of Jackson was set Tuesday when John Graham, a businessman who filed a lawsuit to win a ballot slot, lost a ruling from Judge Benjamin Lewis.

At the end of more than 90 minutes of argument and testimony, Lewis ruled Graham's failure to pay his property taxes before the last day to file for the mayoral job made him ineligible to run. After the ruling, attorney Bekki Cook, who represented Graham, said an appeal may be filed "but we haven't talked about it. Time is very short."

During the hearing, Cook sought to portray the ballot removal as a failure on the part of Jackson city clerk Mary Lowry to properly notify Graham and other candidates of their legal responsibilities if they wished to remain a candidate.

But city attorney Tom Ludwig countered by contending that Lowry had followed the rules governing her job and had no special obligation to warn Graham that she would be checking county tax rolls to determine if he was eligible for the ballot.

Lewis' action leaves the mayor's race as a decision between two current members of the Jackson Board of Aldermen, David Reiminger of Ward 2 and Barbara Lohr of Ward 1. The winner will replace Paul Sander, who is stepping down after 14 years in office.

Graham was the first to file for the April 3 election. He filed Dec. 12, signing a declaration that included a sworn statement that he owed no city taxes or user fees.

Lowry submitted the list of all filed candidates to County Collector Diane Diebold's office Jan. 17, the day after filing closed. According to records at the collector's office, Graham did not pay $405.30 in personal property taxes -- including $76.09 for Jackson -- by the Dec. 31 deadline. He had also not paid $443.12 in real estate taxes -- including $82.16 for Jackson -- by the deadline. Those bills, with penalties, totaled $925.97 on Jan. 17.

Cook argued to Lewis that the law cited by the city wasn't the only law dealing with qualifications of candidates as a result of unpaid taxes. A law in effect since Jan. 1, she noted, gave candidates 30 days to pay their taxes after a delinquency is discovered.

And a law aimed at fourth-class cities like Jackson, she said, barred candidates from being elected who were delinquent at the time of their election.

"With the conflicts and ambiguities" Lowry "was not in the position to remove anyone from the ballot," Cook argued.

In reply to testimony and arguments that the city should have done more to help Graham stay on the ballot, Ludwig replied that the city wasn't singling him out. Graham "seems to have a theory that I have something against him," Ludwig said. "That is not true."

Lowry's role isn't to watch over candidates to make sure they comply with the law, Ludwig said. And her role isn't to try to block them from the ballot, either. "Neither Ms. Lowry nor I care whether Mr. Graham is on the ballot."

As he issued his ruling, Lewis remarked that "It is apparent to the court that Mr. Graham is intensely interested in being mayor of Jackson. And he implies some ill will or conspiracy to undo his candidacy."

But taken as a whole, Lewis said, the law clearly barred Graham for the unpaid taxes and the law cited by Jackson to keep him off the ballot was properly applied.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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