Other candidates, alcohol measure fail to make ballot

After the Lawrence County Board of Elections verified the petitions and signatures of those who filed for the fall general election, three candidates failed to qualify for the ballot.

One is Chesapeake Council member Paul Hart, who has served on council since the mid-1990s.

According to Cathy Overbeck, the director of the board of elections, Hart’s petition was incomplete.

Hart, who has served as mayor pro tempore in Chesapeake, said he asked when he filed if his petition looked in order and did not learn of the issue until later.

“They said I didn’t do stuff like sign my name on one of the petitions,” he said. “After nine times running, you would think I had credibility and am not trying to pull anything.”

Hart said he had debated for some time whether to run again for council before making his decision.

He said he might consider requesting a hearing on the matter.

Four seats are up for election on the Chesapeake council, with incumbents Richard McMaster and Richard Stover seeking re-election. Bill Duncan, who was appointed to fill a vacancy on the council, is seeking his first election, and Danny Burd is also running for a seat.

Overbeck said two other candidates had failed to make the fall ballot — Donald Ray Fitzpatrick, who was seeking a seat on South Point’s village council, and Shannon Murphy, who was running for Dawson-Bryant School Board.

Overbeck said both failed to submit enough signatures.

Four seats are up on South Point’s council, with incumbents Mary Cogan, Chris Smith and David Moore seeking re-election. Also running are Bill Patrick and Marlene Arthur.

Three seats are up for election on the Dawson-Bryant School Board. Incumbents Jamie Murphy, Brady Harrison and Debra Drummond are seeking re-election. Also running is Rebecca Wheeler.

On the issue of ballot measures, Overbeck said one had failed to qualify for the fall election.

The owners of Katimali’s restaurant in Proctorville were seeking permission to sell alcohol. Overbeck said they failed to present enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.