‘Tis the season of accountability

401

Editor,

We here in America are asking questions about the election and I, too, have questions but first I need to tell the people why my name did not appear on the local ballot here in Eureka Springs.

I had, like in 2014, started to gather signatures on a petition to run for alderman in Ward 3 Position 2, and was given a certification letter from the Carroll County Clerk dated 6/30/2016 that my petition to run was complete.

Then in early July 2016 a story about elections stated that only petitions received after July 29, 2016 would be valid. I was shocked.

I talked with the Carroll County Clerk and was told don’t worry, your filing early is fine. Well, I was not going to be beholden to some special exception that was outside of the approved election laws so I stopped my attempt to run for this office.

It is now again as happened after the city election in 2014, when I was sent a certificate of election even though I did not win the election. I have questions as to the people running these elections, and here locally we need to find out why our local County Clerk is not either properly trained or the Arkansas Election Law need to be reviewed and a special investigation started by the state attorney’s office in response to this and other situations here in Carroll County. 

Those who know me know that I am a Christian and I forgive those involved and wish no ill will to them.  

Ferguson Stewart