Elections board disqualifies sheriff’s remaining challengers

The Muscogee County elections board disqualified two more candidates for sheriff Monday, leaving incumbent John Darr unopposed in the November general election.

The board voted three to one to disqualify Democrat Donna Tompkins and Republican Mark LaJoye for failing to file affidavits swearing they graduated from high school and failing to file certified copies of their birth certificates by a March 16 deadline.

The board disqualified Democrats Pam Brown and Robert Keith Smith on March 30, so Tompkins was the only Democrat still in the race. Unless challengers mount successful independent or write-in campaigns, Darr will return to office in January. He was first elected as a Democrat in 2008, but now is running as an independent.

When Darr last ran as a Democrat in 2012, he narrowly defeated Brown in the primary. A recount showed only about 60 votes separated the two.

Smith, who attended Monday’s meeting, said he plans to run as a write-in candidate. LaJoye said he will appeal the board’s decision to Superior Court. Tompkins read a statement saying she was disappointed in the board’s decision, but she took no questions and said nothing of her future plans.

When Smith and Brown appealed their March 30 disqualification, a judge upheld the board’s decision in those cases. They were disqualified for failing to submit fingerprints for a criminal background check by a March 16 deadline.

The board Monday decided that Tompkins and LaJoye missed that same deadline for filing certified copies of their birth certificates and for filing affidavits regarding their having high school diplomas.

That portion of the Georgia code regarding qualifications for sheriff says:

“Each person offering his or her candidacy for the office of sheriff shall file an affidavit with the election superintendent of the county by the close of business on the third business day following the close of the qualification period stating (A) that such person is a high school graduate or equivalent in education training as established by the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council; and (B) when and from what school such person graduated from high school or obtained such recognized equivalent in education training. In addition, such person shall also file a certified copy of his or her birth certificate with the election superintendent of the county.”

Qualifying ended at noon Friday, March 11, so the close of business three work days later was 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 16.

LaJoye told the board he brought his birth certificate to the elections office on March 10, the day he qualified with the Republican Party. But elections workers said LaJoye provided only a photocopy of his birth certificate for an office worker to notarize, not an original birth certificate or a copy certified by the issuing agency to establish its authenticity. A notarized photocopy is not the same as a certified document, the board decided.

Tompkins provided her documents on April 26, 10 days past the deadline.

Her attorney, Ken Henson, said Tompkins did all she was asked to do to qualify, and was in “substantial compliance” with the law. He noted also that the board’s disqualifying all of Darr’s opponents in effect re-elects him sheriff without voters having any say.

U.D. Roberts, the board’s Republican Party representative, said the board had to insist on “strict compliance” with the law, because that’s the standard it set in disqualifying Brown and Smith.

Before voting, board members spent about 45 minutes in a closed-door meeting with their attorneys, claiming the executive session was exempted from the Georgia open meetings law as a discussion of “pending or potential litigation.”

Afterward the board took four separate votes to disqualify each of the two candidates on the issues raised: first a vote on LaJoye’s affidavit, and then a vote on his birth certificate, followed by votes on Tompkins’ affidavit and birth certificate.

Linda Parker, the board’s Democratic Party representative, was the only member to vote against disqualifying LaJoye and Tompkins. Parker on March 30 also voted against disqualifying Brown and Smith.

The elections board has five members, but the chair votes only to break a tie. Columbus Council appoints the board members, though each political party submits three nominees for councilors to choose from.

This story was originally published May 2, 2016 at 3:23 PM with the headline "Elections board disqualifies sheriff’s remaining challengers."