After hearing remarks from about an hour of deliberation, Judge Daniel Zalla said he would make a decision the week of Oct. 24 to decide if Kailyn Campbell, the challenger in the Campbell County School Board District 1 race, is eligible to run.
Janis Winbigler, the Campbell County School board chair, filed a lawsuit against her opponent in the District 1 race, alleging that Campbell is not a bona fide candidate because she does not currently live in the district.
The lawsuit was heard in the Campbell County Circuit Court on Oct. 12, but Zalla did not conclude a decision at the hearing.
He asked representation for both Winbigler and Campbell to submit an eight-page brief by Oct. 21. He said he would make his decision the week of Oct. 24.
The lawsuit follows Campbell filing a petition to be a candidate for Campbell County School Board District 1 on June 7. The lawsuit states that Campbell’s address in Highland Heights was not in District 1 at the time she filed her petition, nor is her residence in District 1 now, after the redistricting that occurred on July 20.
The redistricting decision followed the requirements of a July 15 United States District Court of the Eastern District of Kentucky order because two of the five districts had too many people in them.
Campbell currently resides in District 3 and lived in District 3 at the time of her filing.
During the hearing, Campbell’s lawyer, Brandon Voelker, argued that there were no valid districts at the time of Campbell’s candidacy filing, citing the decision made by U.S. District Judge David Bunning to have the districts redrawn.
Campbell told the court that if she were to win on Nov. 8, she would move into District 1.
Winbigler upheld her position as stated in the lawsuit, which reads, “Since respondent Campbell is neither a resident nor legal registered voter within the bounds of District 1 the Campbell County School District, she is ineligible to serve as a Board of Education member for Campbell County for District 1 and should be disqualified from running for this office.”
Should the court rule that Campbell is not a bona fide candidate, votes for her in the General Election will not be tabulated or recorded. Her name would still appear on the ballot because any changes to the ballot had to be made by Sept. 16 to ensure they were printed correctly.
If Campbell is ruled not to be a bona fide candidate, County Clerk Jim Luersen will notify precinct election officers to display the information at polling places, advising voters of the change and that votes for Campbell would not count.
