Sanders ruled eligible for school board election
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, July 20, 2010
By David Vitrano
L’Observateur
EDGARD – St. John the Baptist Parish School Board Vice President Patrick Sanders will be allowed to seek re-election this fall according to a judgment rendered today by Judge J. Sterling Snowdy at the 40th Judicial District Courthouse in Edgard.
On July 15, Sanders’ opponent for the District 4 school board seat, Ferdinand Wallace, filed a petition that alleged Sanders’ primary residence was not in Reserve but rather on Magnolia Avenue in LaPlace. This would place Sanders’ primary residence in District 7.
After Sanders produced evidence such as his voter registration card and Entergy bill with the Reserve address, Snowdy found that Wallace had failed to satisfactorily prove his allegations.
Consequently, Snowdy dismissed the case.
When he filed the petition, Wallace cited Sanders’ recent marriage to Jennifer Allen, who lives on Magnolia Avenue. The judgment read Wallace believed Sanders would have moved in with his wife after the two were married.
Sanders testified that although he does occasionally reside at the Magnolia home, but his primary domicile has been on East 31st Street in Reserve for at least the past four years.
School board elections will be held on Oct. 2.