MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Opinion | How a residence dispute could affect more than one race in Shelby County| Otis Sanford
When local and state elections roll around, you can bet strange things will happen. This year is no different.
The primaries for state offices are more than four months away, but a gigantic controversy has developed involving the House District 99 race. And it looks as if a Chancery Court judge will have to settle the dispute.
As ABC24 news first reported, former Shelby County Republican Party chairman Lee Mills has been told he’s ineligible to run for the District 99 seat against incumbent Tom Leatherwood. And the reason is, Mills apparently does not live in the District. In fact, he’s been told he does not live in Shelby County. Instead, his home is in Fayette County.
Mills has had an Arlington address and has paid Shelby County taxes for years. The deed to his home is signed by Leatherwood when was Shelby County register. And yet, only now has Mills learned that he’s a Fayette resident – and therefore ineligible for seek office in Shelby County.
This also has serious ramifications for Mills’ wife, Amber Mills, who is running unopposed for reelection to the District 1 county commission seat. If she is ruled ineligible, it could open the door for a Democrat to win that seat.
So the stakes could not be higher – not only for the Mills household but the Republican Party. Such is life for election year politics in these parts.