ST. LOUIS — One candidate will not appear on the September special election ballot for President of the St. Louis Board of Alderman.
Mark Kummer lost a lawsuit challenging his residency Monday.
"Mark Kummer does not meet the qualifications for the office of President of the Board of Alderman," a judge ruled.
The lawsuit was filed by Alderman Jack Coatar, who is running to hold the seat vacated by Lewis Reed. Reed resigned under federal indictment in May.
Reed, former Alderman John Collins Muhammed and former Alderman Vice-President Jeffrey Boyd were all indicted on federal bribery charges.
Kummer was a political newcomer, pointing to his private sector success as his track record.
Voter registration records and campaign finance documents show Kummer was registered to vote in Cambridge, Massachusetts, during the last election cycle. He returned to St. Louis in December of last year. He says he lived in St. Louis "full-time from 1985 to 1996, as well as during the summer of 1997."
The city charter says candidates must have lived in St. Louis for at least five years and must have been an "assessed taxpayer of the city" for two years.
"No person shall become an alderman except a voter at least twenty-five years of age, and who shall have been next before his or her election five years a citizen of the United States, three years a resident of the city, two years an assessed taxpayer of the city, and one year a resident of the ward from which elected," the charter reads.
Coatar's lawsuit highlights the words "next before" in the city charter to argue those five years must be the consecutive years immediately preceding the election.
Kummer fought the lawsuit that he said cited "outdated and racist laws that should have been wiped off the books decades ago."
"While my lawyers are considering responses, it is my position that Mr. Coatar's argument citing an 1893 ruling in Collins v. Collins interpreting 'next before' was made with the intent of preventing freed and decedents of slaves from running for office in the State of Missouri, because it is based on being assessed for taxes on "real property" (land and structure) during the Jim Crow era," Kummer said in a written statement in June.
Coatar and Alderwoman Megan Green are slated to appear on the special election ballot for President of the Board of Aldermen. The top two candidates advance to the November ballot.
