LAUREL HILL — City Councilman Johnny James says he will not cast votes during council meetings while his residency is under investigation.
The Okaloosa County Supervisor of Elections office sent out letters to James and 22 other Laurel Hill residents in mid-December stating that a review of records showed they lived in county rather than city jurisdiction.
“This is something new to me,” James said this week.
He said he believed his property on Robbins Road was, like his neighbors', within the city limits. His property is part of several parcels that former councilman and Mayor Vizell Robbins once owned; they were thought to be annexed by the city in the 1960s.
STILL IN OFFICE
Laurel Hill city attorney Dan Campbell is researching the allegation against James’ residency and will report his findings at the Feb. 5 council meeting.
Meanwhile, he said, James can continue to serve on the council as voters elected him to do.
“Hopefully, this month coming up, everything will be resolved,” James said. “When the next meeting comes, I hope everything will be taken care of.”
James said if his residency had been suspect, the matter should have surfaced when he first ran for office in 2007, or when he was re-elected in 2013.
“When I first ran, nobody raised a flag up,” he said. “Somebody missed doing their job. I already did one term. This comes up so far into my second term.”
NOT VOTING
James said he was surprised when he received the Supervisor of Elections’ letter.
“I did not know. I did not know,” James said. “I wasn’t aware of it before, but now I am.”
To avoid casting votes that might later be challenged, James said he will continue to do his job, but won’t vote on matters before the council.
“I’m going to stay focused,” James said. “I’m going to sit in the councilman’s seat but I’m not going to vote on anything. I don’t want to keep doing things like that now that I know.”
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Councilman with out-of-town residency says he will cast no more votes