Phillips removed from ballot (03/08/06)

A candidate for Redkey Town Council won’t be on the primary ballot.

James Clayton Phillips was removed from the May primary ballot after the Jay County Election Board determined last week that he was not a resident of the town.

The candidacy of Phillips, a Democrat, was challenged in February by Dottie Quakenbush, who is the current town council president.

Phillips, a former town council president who has been a regular at council meetings over the past 6-12 months, resigned his council seat several years ago because he was moving outside the town limits.

The challenge was upheld on a 3-0 vote Friday by election board members Tim Southworth, Carmen Craig and Jane Ann Runyon.

The five remaining candidates on the ballot will be Terri D. Taylor, Zeb Sutton, Douglas Stanley, Terry A. Miller and Charles Noble. So far there are no Republican or independent candidates.

During Friday’s meeting, Phillips presented evidence that he was a resident.

But after a short recess in which he talked privately with Southworth, Jay County’s Democratic chairman, Phillips said he no longer wanted to be considered a candidate.

Runyon said this morning that Phillips also said he did not intend to live in Redkey.

At Friday’s hearing, it was determined that although Phillips owns property at 321 E. High St. in Redkey, he was not a resident, Runyon said.

In addition to Phillips and Quakenbush, Redkey resident Joe Anderson also spoke at the hearing. Runyon said that Anderson asked several questions about the definition of residency and intent.[[In-content Ad]]