Jackson mayoral candidate out of the running due to unpaid property taxes

Jackson businessman John Graham, who wanted to be the first outsider to win the mayor's job in decades, was kicked off the ballot Friday because he hasn't paid his 2006 property taxes.

The certified ballot omitted Graham because records at the Cape Girardeau County Collector's office showed the delinquency, said Mary Lowry, Jackson city clerk. Graham had been the first to file for mayor Dec. 12.

Missouri law is clear, Lowry said. No person in arrears for unpaid city taxes or municipal user fees can be certified as a candidate, she said.

On Wednesday, the day after filing closed, Lowry sent a list of all candidates to the collector's office and Graham was the only one who hadn't paid his property taxes, she said.

If Graham had paid by Tuesday, he could have remained on the ballot, Lowry said. "That is what I have to go by," she said. "I have no choice."

With Graham out, the contest for mayor narrowed to Barbara Lohr and David Reiminger, both current members of the Jackson Board of Aldermen.

The rejection caught Graham by surprise. He remembers signing his ballot application with the pledge that he wasn't behind on his city taxes or fees, Graham said. At the time, he wasn't behind -- he had paid his 2005 taxes and 2006 taxes weren't due until Dec. 31.

Graham said he was informed of the action removing him from the ballot when a Jackson police officer served papers on him Thursday.

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, have now grown to a total of $925.97.

"There is no opportunity to correct this thing," Graham said. "I had planned to pay it and it gives a total due if paid by Jan. 31. I did not see an issue with it at all."

Graham said the city should remind candidates that failure to pay by the day filing ends will bump them from the ballot. "I made a judgment to pay this at the end of the month because it is not that much extra," Graham said. "I still want to be mayor of Jackson."

Graham's options are limited to challenging his removal from the ballot in court or running as a write-in candidate. He had made no decision about which option he will pursue as of Friday afternoon, he said.

The tax bill is an invoice from the county, not the city, and although it is broken down by taxing jurisdiction, Graham didn't think waiting would be an issue.

"All I felt inside was grief, looking at a document handed to me by a policeman," he said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611 extension 126