by Mary Rupert
Tamika Pledger, a candidate for the Unified Government Commission, 1st District at large, will remain on the primary election ballot, Election Commissioner Bruce Newby said today.
Newby said that by law, she can’t withdraw from the election and he cannot remove her from the ballot. Newby added that he had talked with her earlier today and she said she wanted to remain on the ballot and run for the office.
Pledger was involved in a traffic accident in which a youth died and three others were injured on Jan. 30. She was charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter, and three counts of reckless aggravated battery, in connection with that accident. They are felony charges.
The law concerning withdrawing from local elections is different from the law about state offices, Newby said. The law says there is no withdrawal after the filing deadline in the city and county elections, he said.
A few weeks ago, Wyandotte County District Attorney Jerome Gorman told the Wyandotte Daily News that if Pledger is elected to office and is found guilty of a felony, he would have to remove her from office. Pledger is innocent until proven guilty. State law does not allow a convicted felon to serve in office.
If both of those happened — her election and a conviction — that would then put the 1st District, at large, seat in the same vacant position it has been in for the past two years.
Advance voting by mail for the spring primary election has already begun, Newby said. Advance voting in person at the downtown election office, 850 State Ave., and at the Kansas Speedway satellite office will begin Saturday, Newby said. Hours, locations and times for advance voting are listed at www.wycovotes.org.
Two years ago, in February 2013, those who waited to vote on Election Day had to face a blizzard, Newby remembered.
“There were more votes cast in advance than on Election Day,” he recalled about that year. “Those who wait to vote until Election Day are taking a chance.”
An election forum for candidates for the UG, 1st District at large seat is scheduled tonight from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19, at the John F. Kennedy Recreation Center, 1310 N. 10th St., (10th and Washington), Kansas City, Kan.
Some previous stories about Election 2015:
https://wyandotteonline.com/seven-candidates-file-for-vacant-ug-seat/