Remaining Democrat’s qualifications challenged in sheriff’s race

After the local elections board disqualified two of the three Democratic Party candidates for Muscogee County sheriff, a dispute has arisen over the third.

Disqualified candidate Pam Brown’s campaign is challenging retired Sheriff Capt. Donna Tompkins’ qualifications, alleging Tompkins missed the deadline for filing an affidavit that swears she meets all the standards to run for sheriff.

The complaint from Patricia Kiley, Brown’s campaign manager, claims Tompkins’ “Declaration of Candidacy and Affidavit” should have been filed by the close of qualifying at noon, March 11. An image of Tompkins’ affidavit posted to the elections office website shows the affidavit is dated March 15.

But that is within the deadline, said Nancy Boren, executive director of the Muscogee Board of Elections & Registrations. The law that once set the affidavit deadline at the close of qualifying later was amended to give candidates three business days after qualifying ended, Boren said.

Brown’s attorney, J. Mark Shelnutt, said the law requires a candidate to file the affidavit when he or she qualifies for office:

“Each person offering his or her candidacy for the office of sheriff shall at the time such person qualifies, swear or affirm before the officer before whom such person has qualified to seek the office of sheriff that he or she meets all of the qualifications required by this subsection....”

The portion of the code section referring to three days after qualifying applies only to the candidate’s swearing to be fingerprinted for a criminal background check by that deadline, Shelnutt said.

Tompkins said her affidavit would have been filed earlier, but no copy of it was in the campaign packet she got from the Democratic Party when she qualified March 7. She was not told it was missing until March 15, when she went to the elections office to swear she was qualified and signed the document, she said.

Kiley also claims Tompkins did not pay her qualifying fee on time. Tompkins said she paid that by check March 7. Boren said the party issued receipts, so that documentation would be available.

Kiley is asking the board either to reinstate Brown and Robert Keith Smith, the other candidate it disqualified, or to disqualify Tompkins as well.

The board disqualified Brown and Smith for missing the deadline to be fingerprinted for the criminal background check. The law required them to submit fingerprints under the probate judge’s direction by 5 p.m. March 16. They were not fingerprinted until March 17.

The board voted 3-1 March 30 to disqualify them. They appealed to Superior Court, and a judge last week upheld the board’s decision. Shelnutt has advised Brown to appeal to the Georgia Court of Appeals. Smith has decided not to appeal, and instead is supporting Brown.

This story was originally published April 25, 2016 at 3:44 PM with the headline "Remaining Democrat’s qualifications challenged in sheriff’s race."