County certifies candidate in wrong district

William White
Staff Writer
Published: July 30, 2008

John L. “J.J.” Johnson of Salem qualified April 4 for an early start getting to know the voters he wanted to represent in Lee County Commission District 3.

Now in July, with county records showing he lives in District 5, Johnson has withdrawn as a candidate in November’s election.

Since April, Johnson has been going forward with his campaign, registering a lot of voters and going door-to-door.

“Everything was going good until I got a phone call. I can’t count the houses I have visited. I have talked with a lot of people. I have a lot of people supporting me from the Bleeker, Motts, Smiths Station and Salem area,” he said.

“After talking with the Democratic Party, the only choice that I have was to withdraw from the race,” Johnson said. “As the probate judge says, I am not in District 3. I am in District 5.

“I want the voters, the taxpayers to know what happened. Because I didn’t withdraw because of something I did wrong. I am not withdrawing because I didn’t do my paperwork, or I didn’t do my homework. I did everything I thought was right.

“I followed the process and ‘boom’ this is what happened,” Johnson said. “Not to talk about the hours I have spent and the money I have spent, I don’t want this to happen to anyone else.

“Unless someone goes in and looks at this throughout Lee County, this is going to happen again and again and again.”

He first learned about a mistake made by the county when Lee County Probate Judge Bill English called and told him he lived in District 5.

The Lee County Commission District 3 is currently represented by Harry Ennis, who is not seeking re-election. Johnson faced Republican Gary Long in the November election.