Steve Whitson's Name to Appear on May Ballot
By: Mechell Dixon
Updated: March 18, 2013
Steve Whitson filed to run in the Wichita Falls At Large race against District 1 Councilor Michael Smith in May.
Last week, Whitson announced he had planned to withdraw, but missed the deadline..
According to Mayor Glenn Barham, Steve Whitson's withdrawal from the "at large" race would save the city about $10,000 because the city would only have to set up polling places in two districts-- not all across the city.
We were unsuccessful at reaching Mayor Barham today and have called for information from City Clerk Lydia Ozuna Friday and today but have not heard back from her.
So, we called the secretary of state's office for information.
According to a spokesperson there, Whitson's name must appear on the ballot because the withdrawal deadline date was three days after the filing deadline, which was March 1st.
"There's a lot of preparations that go into an election and trying to change a ballot at the last minute would be a complicated process and can create chaos in the election system so we have to have deadlines for a reason," says alicia Pierce, spokesperson for Texas Secretary of State Office.
And Pierce says the race must be held.
A records search revealed another issue regarding Whitson; two charges out of Young County.
In 1990 he received three years probation after pleading guilty to a felony burglary of a building charge.
And in 1999 he pleaded not guilty to a theft of property under $20,000 charge but was found guilty and sentenced to five years probation.
Because Whitson is a convicted felon he could be disqualified from serving on the city council.
Whitson tells us the allegations that led to his convictions are false and says he would provide documentation today to prove it.
However, we never heard from him despite calling him several times.
As for the election, secretary of state officials say since Whitson's name is required to appear on the ballot it is possible he could receive enough votes to win.
And they say if that happens, the city would have to declare a vacancy of the seat and hold a special election to fill the position.
