Election protest filed (08/27/2008)

A candidate's eligibility for the District 1 Jay School Board seat has been challenged.

Zeb Sutton's eligibility is contested on allegations that he doesn't meet the residency requirement for the seat. A candidate must have lived within the district he or she wishes to represent for at least one year.

Jerry Votaw, 427 E. Votaw St., Portland, filed the challenge with the Jay County Clerk's Office on Tuesday. Votaw, a neighbor of Sutton challenger Jim R. Sanders, proffered the complaint on the grounds of the residency requirement.

"He hasn't lived in the district," Votaw said. "That's good enough."

The Jay County Election Board will hold a hearing to determine whether Sutton is eligible and decide if his name will appear on the ballot. Jay County Clerk Jane Ann Runyon said a date has not yet been set.

Sutton, who currently resides at 1019 W. High St., Portland, told The CR Tuesday that he has only lived in Portland since June.

Sutton, who resided in Albany for several months and voted in the May primary in Delaware County, said he was living in Albany while waiting for local landlord Ken Kunkle to find a two-bedroom home for him and his daughter.

"For seven months I was staying in Albany, but Ken was working to try to get a place open for me so I could get back in to the county," he said. "For 29 years and two months I was a Jay County resident," he said. "It was never meant to be long term." Sutton previously near Redkey and Dunkirk.

Kunkle verified that he was working to find a place for Sutton.

"He was trying to get a house and I had a couple one bedroom apartments but he needed two bedrooms," he said. "I finally got him a house that came available on West High Street."

In some cases, intent to live within the area is a deciding factor in determining eligibility but that may not carry weight on the local scene.

"If it goes to court, they talk about intent," Runyon said. "I'm not sure that's going to matter to the election board."

The clerk can accept challenges until the end of business hours Friday. Runyon said she will attempt to set a date for the hearing as soon as possible so that she can finish up the ballots for November.

In addition to the school board races, a variety of county, state and national races will also be on the ballot Tuesday, Nov. 4.[[In-content Ad]]