(Updated) Jim Powell not out of PSC Democrat race
July 14, 2008 at 1:13 pm by Thomas Wheatley in NewsUPDATE: As mentioned in the comments and this post, a Fulton County Superior Court judge has ruled Jim Powell is still a candidate for the Public Service Commission District 4 Democratic primary.
Big news coming from Dick Pettys at InsiderAdvantage. Secretary of State Karen Handel has booted Jim Powell, one of the Democrats vying for the District 4 Public Service Commission race, off the ballot because of residency concerns. Odd judging that just a few weeks ago a judge ruled he had met the requirements.
From Pettys:
In a statement issued by her press office shortly before noon, Handel said James R. Powell does not meet the residency requirements for PSC District 4, a seat now held by retiring Commissioner Angela Speir.
Handel said notices of his disqualification will be placed at the polling places tomorrow, and votes cast for Powell will not be counted.
She said she found that Powell owns a home in Towns County, which is within District 4, but that at the time he qualified, he received a homestead exemption and continued to receive mail at a home he owns in Cobb County, which is not within the district.
The ruling leaves Bob Indech the only Democratic candidate in the race while Lauren McDonald and Pam Davidson are competing for the GOP nod. The winner will compete with Indech and Libertarian Brandon Givens in November.
UPDATE: Blog for Democracy has an interesting post up about Powell’s disqualification.
July 14th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
A Fulton County Superior Court Judge has just granted Jim Powell a stay of SoS Handel’s decision to remove him from the ballot. Mr. Powell is a candidate still and all votes for him are to be counted.
July 14th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Great news Guys! Just heard that Jim Powell got a stay on Secretary of State Handel’s disqualification! He is still on the ballot and ALL votes will be counted!!