Dennis pulls out of race
Ed Sam will keep School Board seat
Kayla
Gagnet
Daily Advertiser
School Board member Ed Sam has won re-election to his District 4 seat
after his opponent, Charles Dennis, withdrew from the race amid a
challenge to his residency.
Dennis'
lawyer, John W. Milton, announced the withdrawal in court Monday during
a hearing that would have addressed whether Dennis' truly lives in
District 4.
After the brief hearing, Dennis, who has maintained he met residency
requirements, said he pulled out of the race because he didn't want to
put his family through "personal discussions about where I sleep."
"I don't want the community, the press and everyone else in
my bedroom," Dennis said.
Resident
John Paul Stoshak filed a legal challenge to Dennis' candidacy Friday.
Stoshak charged that Dennis' legal home is not the Judy Street address
he listed in District 4 but on Failla Road in District 9. He
said Dennis was "seeking to circumvent the electoral process and
defraud the people."
Dennis was the only opponent of longtime School Board member Ed Sam,
who has won his seat again without opposition.
Sam
said though he was not involved in the challenge on Dennis' residency,
he's glad to have his seat on the Board for another term.
"All
during this process, I have kept quiet about him running in the
district," Sam said of Dennis. "But I've found that Mr. Dennis was
trying to run for a School Board seat unethically and unlawfully. He
was also distorting the truth concerning his domicile and
qualifications. However, the law caught up with him."
During Monday's brief hearing, Judge Herman Clause disclosed several
connections with the parties involved.
As a School Board member for 12 years, Clause worked with Dennis, who
is a school system employee.
"He's a very fine educator, and I've had nothing but praise for him and
his conduct," Clause said of Dennis.
Clause
said he also knew Stoshak as a "passing acquaintance." He said he
didn't think the connections warranted removing himself from the case,
and attorneys for both sides agreed.
But Stoshak said he was upset by the judge's compliments of Dennis.
"Then why was he in (court) for defrauding the public, and why did he
withdraw from the race?" Stoshak said.
Dennis
said his withdrawal does a "disservice to the people in District 4.
They no longer have a choice - they have to take what they have."
Dennis,
who works as director of special curriculum and instructional programs
for the school system, has been on sick leave since April 2005. He
recently requested to take annual leave and then retire Sept. 1, but
Superintendent James Easton did not approve Dennis' leave, said
personnel director Mona Bernard.
Dennis did not come back to
work, so he is considered suspended with pay, pending the outcome of a
hearing before the School Board, Bernard said.
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