JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A lawsuit was filed this week involving two Democrats running for Jacksonville City Council At-Large Group 5, reveal court documents obtained Wednesday by News4JAX.
Although these are citywide races, the candidates must live in specified districts.
Recommended Videos
Charles Garrison is suing Nahshon Nicks, as well as Supervisor of Elections Mike Hogan. Garrison alleges that Nicks lives in the area for At-Large Group 1, not At-Large Group 5.
On his candidate qualifying documents, Nicks lists a home address of 1650 N. Laura Street, which would be in the district for Group 5.
According to city rules, a candidate must live in a district for 183 days before qualifying for an election. Since he qualified in January, he needs to have lived in the district since July 12, 2022.
As of that date, according to the lawsuit, Nicks was registered to vote at an address on Moby Dick Drive West on the Northside, just outside of the Group 5 district.
The lawsuit also says that in May 2022, Nicks and his wife bought a home on Morning Rise Circle, also just outside of the Group 5 district. Both addresses are in the Group 1 district.
The lawsuit says the Laura Street address that he put as his residence on candidate forms has been owned by the same person since 2008, and that she is the JEA account holder there, with her son as an authorized user — arguing that is not Nicks’ residence.
Also, his candidate forms list the mortgage for the Morning Rise Court home as a liability, but does not make any mention of that home as one of his assets.
The lawsuit asks a judge to declare Nicks is not a duly qualified candidate for At-Large Group 5 in this election and require SOE Hogan to decertify Nicks for the race.