Get back, funky Cat

Candidate can’t run for ward where he doesn’t live

Adam Fire Cat always brings a new and unexpected wrinkle to the political races he joins. Cat — yes, that’s his name — has been a presence in local politics for years, perhaps most noted for his unconventional and pre- dictably unsuccessful run for mayor in 2008 when he threw his T-shirt into the ring with the likes of Dan Coody, Lioneld Jor- dan, Steve Clark, Walt Eilers and an earnest University of Arkansas student named Sami Sutton. And although Cat is, as he says, a “recurring character” in the political life of Fayetteville, we have to mention how his presence in that race forced some of the other candidates to address issues they otherwise might not have. The lens Cat looks through is different than a lot of other people’s eye wear, but he sometimes raises a point that’s hard to ignore.

What was also hard to ignore this week was Adam Fire Cat’s disconnect with the laws of the state of Arkansas. Cat filed to run for City Council in a seat now held by Matthew Petty. Petty also filed for re-election. The pair were also joined by a third candidate, Gary McHenry, a member of the Washington County Quorum Court appointed last year by Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

In the course of an interview last week, Cat discussed living in Ward 4. The only problem with that is he was running to represent the people of Ward 2. Questioned about the discrepancy, Cat said his research indicated that was legal as long as the people who signed his petition of candidacy lived in the district he wanted to represent.

Uh, no.

It’s a long-held principal that people need to live within the boundaries of the zone, district, city, county or state they seek to represent. Arkansans can’t elect a gubernatorial candidate who lives in West Siloam Springs, Okla. It may only be a political boundary on a map, but it has serious legal meaning.

Cat lived in Ward 2 for 20 years, he said, but a move last year placed him in Ward 4.

A check with City Attorney Kit Williams and others quickly confirmed Cat’s ineligibility, meaning the contest for Ward 2 became just a little less, well, intriguing. It’s still a contest, but Cat can’t be elected.

Those developments, however, begged a question: Whose job is it to make sure the people filing for office meet the residency requirements for that office? Laws matter, and it’s important that residents can count on a verification process to ensure candidates seeking to represent them are fully qualified.

The answer is it’s the job of the county clerk, with whom candidates file their paperwork. In this case, it was the Washington County Clerk’s Office. And in aftermath of the discovery about Cat’s ineligibility, it became clear County Clerk Becky Lewallen is no Mark Martin.

Martin is Arkansas’ secretary of state, whose office recently butchered an effort to purge voter registration roles of voters made ineligible because of felony convictions. But it was a disaster. His office provided information to county clerks that was full of erroneous information. And Martin’s response? It was the fault of county clerks, not his.

Lewallen doesn’t share Martin’s shortcomings.

“It’s definitely a mistake that our office has made,” she said of not recognizing Cat lived outside Ward 2. “I’m not going to blame it on anybody else. It’s definitely something that we are supposed to catch, and we didn’t catch it.”

We appreciate an officeholder taking responsibility. And Adam Fire Cat didn’t argue the point either once he learned of the problems. Both of them deserve credit for taking their lumps.

There are always dangers when an activity becomes so routine that details are overlooked. Maybe this experience will focus needed attention on the process of verifying residency of candidates and, we hope, the people who sign their petitions for candidacy.

As for Adam Fire Cat, we wish him well. And wonder what a Ward 4 race of the future might look like.