SALYERSVILLE –Appeals have been filed in the Kentucky Court of Appeals concerning the mayoral contest case that wrapped up in circuit court last week.
On December 1, just three days after Circuit Judge Kim Childers ruled in favor of Mayor-Elect Stanley Howard in the mayoral contest case where his qualifications for running for mayor were being questioned, Ned Pillersdorf, the attorney for current Mayor James “Pete” Shepherd, filed appeals against Childers’ ruling in the state appellate court.
While specific details of the cases are not known at press time, the SI has been told the case will be expedited. Records from the circuit court are due by December 19 and a prehearing statement is due on December 21.
The Independent will continue to follow these cases as they continue to progress.
On November 8, Stanley Howard won by 10 votes against James “Pete” Shepherd on election night, with the court previously holding the results until the matter was resolved. Shepherd has held the position of mayor for 11 years, being voted into the office by the council after Howard resigned from the position in 2011. The two went head-to-head in a special election later that year, with Shepherd winning, and he has won every subsequent bid for re-election since first taking office, with the exclusion of the election held on November 8. With Childers’ ruling that Howard was a qualified candidate in the race, Howard is set to take office in January.
According to KRS 83A.040, which deals with the qualifications of a mayoral candidate: “A mayor shall be elected by the voters of each city at a regular election. A candidate for mayor shall be a resident of the city for not less than one (1) year prior to his or her election. His term of office shall begin on the first day of January following his election and shall be for four (4) years and until his successor qualifies. If a person is elected or appointed as mayor in response to a vacancy and serves less than four (4) calendar years, then that period of service shall not be considered for purposes of re-election a term of office. A mayor shall be at least twenty-one (21) years of age, shall be a qualified voter in the city, and shall reside in the city throughout his term of office.”
