A candidate running to represent Little Rock's 2nd Ward faces a court injunction seeking to disqualify her from the race, based on her listing a residence outside that ward when she filed.
City Attorney Tom Carpenter said Wednesday that he was preparing to take the matter to court in order to prevent votes for Valerie Tatum from being counted, though her name will appear on the already printed ballot regardless. City officials were notified of the discrepancy by an outside party days earlier.
Tatum, founder of Covenant Keepers Charter School in southwest Little Rock, listed her address as 3401 Fair Park Blvd. on filing documents. That address is on Ward 2's border with Ward 1 and was in Ward 2 until the U.S. census in 2010, when the ward boundaries were redrawn.
A section of Fair Park Boulevard from 18th Street to Asher Avenue comprises the border between the two wards. Residences on the east side of Fair Park Boulevard are in Ward 2, and those on the west side are in Ward 1, according to information provided by Little Rock City Clerk Susan Langley.
When she filed to run for office in July, Tatum said, the city provided her with a map that she said showed her address was in Ward 2. Tatum, 54, said the city clerk's office did not tell her there was a problem with her candidacy until this week and previously only reached out to tell her she needed more signatures, which she got.
"I wouldn't run for an office intentionally being out of the ward," she said, responding to questions in a phone call Wednesday with her attorney, Jess Askew III, on the line. "I truly feel this is maybe a mishap on the city's part. ... It was approved, and I was ready to go."
Tatum said she moved to a new address, 2100 Fair Park Boulevard, on Friday -- a Ward 2 address. The longtime educator said she moved in with her sister, whose home was recently broken into. She said she has since updated her driver's license to reflect her new address.
Carpenter said that even if Tatum lives in Ward 2 now, it doesn't matter. He cited Arkansas Code Annotated 14-61-109, which states in part that "candidates for ward positions shall be residents of the ward they wish to represent."
The city attorney said Tatum became a candidate when she filed in July, so her address had to have been in Ward 2 at that time for her to qualify for the position, even if she moved into Ward 2 before the election.
Tatum said she moved to Little Rock from Maumelle in March or April. Filings show she formed an exploratory committee for the Ward 2 seat in March.
A campaign finance report Tatum filed in July shows that she had raised $1,345 in contributions; $750 of that came from Claiborne Deming, retired president and CEO of Murphy Oil in El Dorado, according to the report.
Tatum is one of four candidates vying for the Ward 2 City Director seat. The others are incumbent Ken Richardson, 52, Rohn Muse, 65, and Shalonda Michelle, 39. The election is Nov. 6, and early voting begins Monday.
Metro on 10/18/2018