After more than a month of legal back-and-forth, the question of whether all three qualifying candidates for the Ward 2 council seat will make it on the April 1 primary ballot has been answered.
In a ruling issued Tuesday, Senior Status Judge Jeff Weill Sr. cleared the way for Laisha “Ms. She-She” O’Neal and Roderick Smith to appear on the ballot, rejecting Ward 2 incumbent Joseph Mickens’ challenges to their residency qualifications.
In his case in Lowndes County Circuit Court against the Democratic Executive Committee for Columbus, Mickens argued his opponents are not bona fide residents of the ward, but the judge found his claims lacked sufficient evidence and ruled both candidates are Ward 2 residents.
Weill, a special judge appointed to the case, heard arguments from both sides during a six-hour hearing Thursday at Lowndes County Courthouse. Weill took the evidence and testimony under advisement over the weekend and submitted his ruling just before noon Tuesday.
Mickens told The Dispatch on Tuesday he respects the judge’s ruling and intends to move forward with his campaign.
“I will abide by his ruling,” he said. “I still stand behind what I believe. I believe they are not bona fide residents of the ward, but the judge made his decision and I accept it.”
Kabir Karriem, who chairs the executive committee, said he is proud the credibility of the Democratic Party of Lowndes County is no longer in question.
“I’m glad this is behind us so we can focus on the people’s business and move on more important things,” he told The Dispatch on Tuesday. “This was a distraction. I don’t think we ever should have went to court, but I’m happy with the outcome of it.”
In a text message to The Dispatch Tuesday, Smith called the decision a significant step forward in his journey to serve the community.
“I’m grateful for the support and encouragement I’ve received from everyone along the way,” he wrote. “I’m eager to bring positive change and represent the voices of our residents.”
O’Neal shared a similar sentiment.
“(If God is) for us, who can be against us?” she wrote in a text message to The Dispatch. “This means that no man, woman, boy or girl is a threat to the purpose God placed inside you. … My promise to the constituents is to serve my people.”
Many claims, little proof
Weill’s ruling dismisses the case based on a procedural misstep on Mickens’ part. State statute requires anyone contesting a candidate’s qualification to file a petition naming the specific grounds of the challenge within 10 days after the qualifying deadline.
Mickens claimed to have given Karriem two documents outlining his challenges within the proper timeframe, but Karriem testified he never received them. Weill found no evidence supporting Mickens’ claim.
“He has no receipt of the filing of any appropriate petition and failed to provide any indication that it had been received by the committee in the form of emails or text exchanges which would have potentially supported his argument,” the judge wrote in his ruling.
Regardless of the procedural oversight, Weill ruled that none of the evidence Mickens – who held the burden of proof in this hearing – presented supports the claim that O’Neal and Smith live outside of Ward 2.
During the hearing, Walter Howard Zinn Jr., Mickens’ attorney, contended that although the two challengers may have addresses in Ward 2, those homes should not be considered their legal domiciles. He argued O’Neal and Smith lacked the intent to establish permanent residency in the ward, a requirement in meeting the legal definition of domicile.
The Dispatch attempted to contact Zinn for a comment Tuesday, but he did not return calls or text messages by press time.
However, Weill found that O’Neal and Smith provided sufficient evidence, including tax returns, lease agreements, voter registration cards, driver’s licenses and medical bills, all of which showed they live in Ward 2 and intend to remain there.
Under Columbus’ special charter, a person must live in a ward for at least three months to be eligible to be elected to represent it.
“Mickens argues that each candidate might live at a separate address outside of Ward 2, however, each candidate has independently proven through testimony and probative evidence that they have selected their domiciles in ward 2, that they vote in ward 2 and they conduct their affairs in Ward 2,” Weill wrote in his decision.
Weill further noted that Mickens gave no rebuttal to O’Neal’s claim that she had moved out of a Ward 3 residence on Short Main Street well in time to qualify for the Ward 2 council seat.
“O’Neal testified that none of her belongings remained at her old address and that she had not lived at her old address since she moved,” Weill wrote. “Mickens presented no evidence or testimony to rebut this testimony.”
Mickens’ argument against Smith’s residency requirements was somewhat more supported but ultimately failed to convince the judge.
The only “tangible item of proof” Weill said Mickens offered was a copy of an envelope addressed to Smith, which was stamped “not at this address,” referencing a home he leases on Meadow Drive in Ward 2. However, the judge said the envelope alone was not enough to undermine Smith’s residency.
Mickens claimed Smith’s primary address is actually a home in Ward 3 on Cannon Trace because it is owned by his wife, who lives there. Smith and his wife maintained they had previously agreed to live in separate homes for the time being during their testimonies.
Weill said the presumption that newlywed couples must share a residence and homestead exemption was not enough to substantiate Mickens’ claim.
“(Mickens) offered no clear evidence in support of this contention aside from his theoretical argument that it does not make sense for a newlywed not to live in the house that his wife owned prior to their marriage, and that Mickens had seen Smith’s registered vehicle at his wife’s house more than he had seen (it) at Smith’s leased address,” Weill wrote.
Managing Editor Zack Plair contributed to this report.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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