Bill Harvey, a Weaver resident, brought the matter before the council, with a prepared packet of documents stating his case and claiming that Bearden lives outside Weaver's city limits.
The allegation that Bearden is not a resident of Weaver stems from his declaration of candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the District 36 state house seat in. In January 2010, Bearden filled and signed a document stating his declaration using an address on Weaver Road in Anniston.
According to the Alabama Code, Section 11-43-1, every mayor, councilman and officer elected has to reside within the city limits of the city they have been elected to and must maintain residence inside the city for the duration of their term.
“He should have resigned by at least January 2010 because of his residence,” Harvey told the council.
When council members Jeff Clendenning and Sheila Field asked Bearden if this was true and if he should resign, Bearden denied the allegation.
“I have multiple residences,” he said, citing a main residence on Ridge Drive in Weaver.
When pressed further, he elaborated.
“I reside in Weaver more than the required number of nights,” he said.
Aletha Young, attending the meeting to update the council on the up-and-coming Heritage Day in September, asked if by those standards she could run for mayor because she worked in Weaver. She asked what the required number was.
Bearden answered that the number of nights required was 90 per year, and added that the required time to contest an election is “considerably over with.”
Section 17-16-49 of state law states that all contests of elections must be filed within 20 days of the election.
Clendenning asked for Bearden’s resignation based upon his certification to the Democratic Party that he lives in Anniston.
Bearden said would not resign and that the whole issue was part of a “political witch hunt” aimed at him.
“I have fought for government transparency,” said Bearden. “You’ve seen me enough now to be able to predict me and to know me.”
Bearden added that, “if you want to get rid of me then vote for me and send me to Montgomery.”
At this point Harvey stood up to respond. “Your opponent isn’t making the accusation, it’s me,” he said. He also pointed to voter registration records that indicate that in 2007, Bearden changed his voting registration to Lenlock, once again inside Anniston city limits. Bearden said that he changed his registration back to Weaver within the legal time limit to do so for elections.
Regardless of the legality of the issue, Clendenning said that nothing could be done by the council to push for Bearden’s resignation and that a lawsuit must be brought by a resident of Weaver for anything to happen.
“I am totally amazed at this whole election process and the heights and lows that people will go to,” Bearden said before calling for a motion to adjourn. He then declared the meeting adjourned after a short pause, with no one seconding the motion.
Also at the meeting, Mayor Pro-Tem Ray Thompson gave notice of his resignation to be effective by no later than the last meeting in November . Thompson said that he was leaving because his family is relocating so that his wife, a teacher, can be closer to her job and his daughter can be closer to her friend. He said that he would leave as soon as another council member was found, but that he was “not going to just up and leave this council without someone in this seat.” Thompson has served on Weaver’s City Council since August of 1996.
