Jackson man sues for reinstatement on ballot

A Jackson businessman is suing the city to be placed back on the ballot for mayor in the April 3 election.

John Graham, owner of a copy machine company, will be in court Tuesday for arguments challenging the city's decision to remove him from the race for mayor for nonpayment of property taxes. To argue his case, Graham hired attorney Bekki Cook, former secretary of state for Missouri.

"She's the former chief election officer of the state," he said. "I don't play games."

In his court filings, Cook argued on Graham's behalf that Jackson officials didn't apply the law properly in denying him a spot on the ballot. The declaration of candidacy, filed Dec. 12, only asks the candidate to swear he is not in arrears on any city taxes or municipal user fees.

And at the time he filed for office, he wasn't. But when the city checked Jan. 17, the day after filing closed, county records showed he hadn't paid his 2006 property taxes that were due Dec. 31. A portion of those taxes is a Jackson city tax.

In her filings, Cook argues that a state law that took effect Jan. 1 gives a candidate who faces disqualification 30 days to pay the taxes. Graham paid the tax on Jan. 23.

"My issue is that I wouldn't have filed for mayor if I had not planned on fulfilling that role," Graham said. "What they did to me was wrong."

Jackson city attorney Tom Ludwig argues that Cook is using the wrong law to challenge Graham's removal from the ballot. Instead of the law giving Graham 30 days to pay, Ludwig argues, the correct statute requires that taxes be paid by the last day of filing.

The correct law, Ludwig said, is clear-cut. If candidates aren't current on taxes or user fees on the last day of filing, city clerk Mary Lowry can't put them on the ballot.

"They raised a lot of other things that really aren't relevant," he said.

Graham is seeking a spot on the ballot alongside two veteran members of the Jackson Board of Aldermen, Barbara Lohr and David Reiminger. The candidates are vying to replace Mayor Paul Sander, who is stepping down after 14 years in the post.

The lawsuit also names County Clerk Kara Clark as a defendant, but Ludwig said that was a formality because Clark is responsible for ordering the ballots and conducting the election. "I suspect the county will be expecting us to carry the burden on this."

The difference between the two laws, Ludwig said, is that one is specifically aimed at municipal elections while the other is directed at state elections for offices such as governor or state representative.

But in her filing, Cook argues that the new law with the grace period for paying taxes is generally applicable to all elections. And since the declaration of candidacy does not specify which law governs, she said, the city did not give Graham adequate notice of his duties to remain a candidate.

The statutes are a burden to the city that it could live without, Ludwig said. "The only reason we are doing this is because the law says we have to."

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126