Pass Christian mayor’s race is heating up with a lawsuit, longtime mayor retiring
Another lawsuit has been filed and two candidates for mayor in Pass Christian are answering questions about their residency as cities across South Mississippi prepare for primary elections on April 6.
Ward 3 Alderman Anthony Hall, a Democrat, asked for a judicial review after Republican challenger Kirk Kimball III was allowed on the ballot in Pass Christian. Hall claims in a letter to Rimmer Covington Jr., chairman of the Republican Executive Committee in Pass Christian, that Kimball has not lived in the city for the past two years.
Special judge Richard McKenzie was appointed by the Supreme Court to hear the case.
No formal challenge was made within the allotted 10 days of qualifying for two of the five candidates who are running for mayor after longtime Mayor Chipper McDermott decided not to seek another term.
Supporters of Adam Pace and Jim Rafferty, Republican candidates for mayor, say both candidates worked outside the area and neither has lived in the city for two years prior to the election.
Since a challenge wasn’t made in time, it will be up to the voters rather than the courts to decide if they or another candidate should be the next mayor.
Also qualifying for the mayoral election in the Pass are Republican Roy Adams, Democrat Peggy Johnson and Independent Zenas Cappie.
AG opinion is the issue
The questions come after an opinion from the office of Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch said candidates must live in the city or ward in which they are running for office for two years to qualify in the election.
A hearing Friday in the case of Zach Grady, whose name was removed from the ballot for city council in D’Iberville over residency, could also clear up some of these residency questions in Pass Christian and across the state.
The Supreme Court appointed Hinds County retired judge Judge Jeff Weill to hear the case of Grady, a former D’Iberville Police officer who lived in the city for 10 years, but moved from Ward 4 to 3 about a year ago.
“I’m mindful that the election is only 25 days away,” Weill said Friday, and he indicated that his ruling will come quickly after the attorneys file their final documents on Tuesday.
Pass Christian lawsuit filed
Hall filed his lawsuit Feb. 9, claiming Kimball moved back to Pass Christian from California in 2020 — not soon enough to qualify under the AG’s opinion.
Kimball’s response to Hall’s lawsuit was that he maintained his residency in the Pass, and said he provided evidence Feb. 16, when he met with the Republican Committee that is in charge of certifying candidates in the Pass Christian election.
After the committee met in executive session, Kimball’s response says, the members denied Hall’s challenge and allowed Kimball to run.
Catherine Williams, a Republican, also qualified in the race for Ward 3.
Can a mayor live outside city lines?
“Quite a few people in the Pass don’t believe that Adam (Pace) qualifies to be mayor because he lives outside the city limits,” said Anita Giani, one of a group of voters who question his name on the ballot.
Pace said he and his family currently live on Espy Avenue, outside the city limits. He used a Davis Avenue, where he works and temporarily lived in an apartment, on his election papers.
Spencer Ritchie, a Jackson attorney who specializes in election law, represents Pace and says Mississippi code allows his candidacy.
It comes down to a person’s “true and permanent home,” Ritchie said. According to the Mississippi Supreme Court, before a person can establish a new domicile, they have to abandon the old one, he said.
Pace sold his house in Pass Christian when someone unexpectedly came to his door and offered to buy it, Ritchie said.
Six months ago Pace bought a property on Alicia Street off Menge Avenue in the city, he said, where he is actively working on site plans to build a new house where he and his family will live.
Pace served on the Pass Christian Planning Commission until recently and the Civil Service Commission, which Ritchie said are appointed positions reserved for residents.
The Republican Executive Committee and the committee’s attorney, Tim Holleman, looked at all these issues and determined he’s still a resident, Ritchie said.
Other AG opinions, including a 2006 opinion in the case of a Long Beach Alderman who temporarily located out of state after his home in the city was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, back up Pace’s residency status, Ritchie said. He returned to Long Beach, but to a different ward, before reestablishing residence in the ward he represented.
“For purposes of election law, residence and domicile are synonymous,” Ritchie said. A temporary change in residence doesn’t affect domicile status unless the person acquires a new domicile and abandons the old one without intent to return.
Battle at the ballot box
Rafferty said he’s maintained Pass Christian as his primary residence since 2014.
He’s worked outside Mississippi during his career in compensation and benefits. In 2019 he began working for the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in Washington, D.C., and lived in Alexandria, Virginia. According to his LinkedIn page, he left that job in June 2020.
He’s ever been involved in politics before, Rafferty said. He met with Pace and the two had coffee at the start of the campaign.
Instead of criticizing his opponent, “I’m focusing all of my energy right now on beating him at the ballot box,” Rafferty said.
Important election
As attorney fees add up for the candidates, there is a lot of interest in this year’s election and people know the importance of electing a new mayor, said Hunter Dawkins, editor of the Gazebo Gazette newspaper in Pass Christian.
McDermott led the town through the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and although Pass Christian is small in size compared to most Coast cities.
“Other mayors across the Coast reach out to Chipper because he is the person who gets things done,” Dawkins said.
“Losing that is definitely going to be a loss to Pass Christian in general,” he said.
This story was originally published March 15, 2021 at 5:50 AM.
