Mayoral hopeful says office closure does not allow him to qualify

By By Patrick Johnston
Published: July 08, 2008

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Aaron Grubbs says he wants to run for mayor of Baker Hill.

But he’s concerned he won’t be able to run. Grubbs said Tuesday morning he cannot qualify because the town hall is closed, making it impossible for him or any prospective candidate to file the needed paperwork to run for office.

“I tried to qualify July 1, and it was closed then,” Grubbs said Tuesday morning.

“I’ve reported this to the (attorney general’s) office.”

According to Baker Hill Mayor Jimmy Cochran, the town hall has been closed because the town clerk, who is the only employee to work in the office, is home for medical reasons. However, Cochran said Tuesday morning that he and council member Otis Banks are handling town business - including the qualifying of mayoral and council candidates- as needed, and that their phone numbers are on the front door of town hall.

“We will see that (qualifying) gets done,” Cochran said. “I don’t know what else we could do.”

Cochran, who plans to run for re-election, said he has not yet been contacted by Grubbs. But Grubbs said he has tried to contact Cochran but has been unsuccessful.

“Nobody has been able to get in touch with him,” Grubbs said.

The deadline to qualify is July 15, and the election is set for Aug. 26. Efforts to contact the attorney general’s office were unsuccessful as of early Tuesday afternoon.

Cochran edged Grubbs in the 2004 mayoral election by one vote, 85-84. Grubbs contested the election, stating four absentee votes that could have influenced the final tally were unfairly rejected. After several months the Alabama Supreme Court eventually ruled that the absentee votes could not be counted, and that Cochran should be declared the winner.