by Mary Wilson
The ballots have been printed. The polling places are
beginning their setups. But, the candidates for Jackson County Sheriff are
breathing a sigh of relief, for now.
On Tuesday, with one week before the upcoming election on
August 7, a judge determined the primary for Jackson County Sheriff was not
valid. Any votes cast for Sheriff on Tuesday’s election will not be counted,
nor will they be used in consideration as democratic and republican party
committee’s will appoint their respective candidates for election in November.
With the abrupt resignation of former Sheriff Mike Sharp in
April, County Executive Frank White appointed interim Sheriff Darryl Forte’,
former KCPD Chief of Police. The interim sheriff appointment is only through
the end of the year, and a new sheriff will be sworn in to serve beginning January
1, 2019. This leaves the replacement being chosen by voters in November, based
on the candidate provided from each party.
Jackson County provided the following statement regarding
the Sheriff’s election:
“The Clerk of the Legislature, who serves as the election
authority for candidate filing and calling county elections, asked for the
assistance of the County Counselor’s Office in providing a legal opinion
regarding the procedure to elect a sheriff to fill the remainder of the
sheriff’s unexpired term, starting January 1, 2019. The County Counselor’s
Office acknowledged a lack of clarity in the law on this point, but reviewed
that law and prior precedent, and determined that the best way to proceed was
to open candidate filings for a primary election. However, that determination
was taken to court and the court has decided differently. The County will
follow the court’s order.”
The judge’s ruling has no effect on other races, including
legislature or county executive.
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