NO PRIMARY: COUNCIL CANDIDATE DECLARED INELIGIBLE

For the third Cape Girardeau City Council election in eight years, the eligibility of a candidate has come into question. But this time a candidate will be excluded from the race.

City Attorney Warren Wells and City Manager J. Ronald Fischer Tuesday determined that council candidate Jess Hopple isn't eligible to run for one of three council terms that will expire in April.

Last Friday, Hopple, 58, of 2700 Bloomfield Road became the seventh candidate to file for election, which would have forced a primary election Feb. 4.

A primary election is only held if there are seven or more candidates for the three council seats to be decided in the April municipal election.

But Hopple, who moved to Cape Girardeau in April, hasn't been a resident long enough to satisfy the city charter's residency requirements for candidates, city officials said. As a result, there will be no city primary.

"I talked with Mr. Hopple at some length about it and spoke with the city manager, who issued a letter to him (Tuesday) stating that he will be ineligible to run," said Wells.

"It's the city manager's decision, which he made after consulting with me and discussing the factual basis for Mr. Hopple's residency claim."

Hopple said he understands the city's finding and will wait another four years to seek a council seat.

"I don't look at is as a defeat, but merely a delay," he said. "I plan on making Cape my home the rest of my life.

"There is a lot of interest that I can commit to this community and do it a lot of good if not in the political arena, then in other ways. I think it's a fantastic city, and I don't think people realize what they've got."

The city charter states that a council member must have been a resident of Cape Girardeau for at least four consecutive years immediately prior to his or her election.

Hopple said when he filed that he was aware of the eligibility requirement, but suggested he might meet the residency requirement on the basis that he intended to reside here.

The residency-requirement issue has surfaced before, both in 1983 and 1985.

In both instances, candidates were declared eligible to run on the basis of their intent to reside in Cape Girardeau, although in terms of actual years they also failed to meet the residency requirement.

City Councilman David Limbaugh was allowed to run for city council in 1985 by then City Manager Gary Eide. He was subsequently elected in 1986 and re-elected in 1990.

Limbaugh grew up in Cape Girardeau, but practiced law in Salem for two years before moving back here in January 1983.

But Eide determined that Limbaugh met the four-year residency requirement because of his intent to reside here.

Eide said at the time that his decision was based on a Missouri Supreme Court case involving former Gov. Christopher Bond in which the high court ruled that intent was a key factor in determining whether a candidate meets residency requirements.

Wells said Tuesday he also considered the Bond case when examining Hopple's bid for eligibility. But he added that many people misinterpret the case and why Bond was ruled eligible to run for governor.

Wells said Missouri requires gubernatorial candidates to be residents for at least 10 years prior to seeking election. Bond, a Missouri native, had worked at short-term positions as an attorney outside the state during the 10 years prior to the election.

"The question was not really whether his residency had been interrupted by the short-term employment," said Wells.

"The actual court question then was whether he intended to abandon his Missouri residence when he was absent from the state in these short-term employment situations."

Wells said that while Limbaugh's case was closely related to the Bond case, Hopple had not previously lived in Cape Girardeau.

"Mr. Hopple never resided in the city of Cape Girardeau," he said. "While he and his wife intended to come to Cape Girardeau, they've been living in California for the past 18 years.

"There can be no claim they were returning to the city, because they never lived here."

In 1983, Eide ruled that Gary Schreiner met the residency requirement for a council candidate because Schreiner had signed a contract to teach at Southeast Missouri State University and had purchased a home within the four-year residency minimum for the 1984 election.

Although Schreiner did not actually move to Cape Girardeau until late 1980, Eide said Schreiner met the residency requirement on the basis of intent.

Hopple has maintained that while he has only lived in the city since April, he and his wife decided five or six years ago to move to Cape Girardeau from San Jose, Calif.

Wells said that Hopple indicated that the couple moved from California to the Scott County area in December 1990, and then moved into Cape Girardeau in April.

Hopple said that his two daughters attended Southeast Missouri State University, and one of them has lived in Cape Girardeau for the past 16 years.

The retired Ford Motor Co. manager, who was born in Poplar Bluff, grew up in Jefferson County. He and his wife, Freida, spent 41 years living in DeSoto before moving to California in 1973.

Hopple asked Wells and Fischer to consider his intent to move to the city. Hopple said that the move was made following his wife's retirement last year.

He said he isn't offended by the city's decision to declare him ineligible. He said that despite the earlier precedent for exceptions to the residency requirement, the decision is out of his hands.

"I maintain a positive attitude at all times," he said. "I kept it open and upfront and I'll live with the decision. There's no bitterness at all."

Wells said Hopple was very cooperative and open in providing residency information. He said he understood Hopple's contention, but that the Limbaugh and Schreiner cases were clearly different.

"I understand Mr. Hopple's way of thinking in this," Wells said. "They were residents of the state and always intended to come back to Missouri, so he's thinking in terms of returning to Missouri.

"But he can't make that case for returning to Cape Girardeau because he never lived here."