Michael O’Donnell II made a well-spoken, enthusiastic candidate for the Wichita City Council, which is why he advanced to the general election against Vice Mayor Paul Gray. But O’Donnell showed poor judgment in thinking he could run for City Council in southwest Wichita while mostly sleeping at his parents’ house in Bel Aire, where he was still registered to vote until days after he became a candidate. That’s why he just lost his place on the April 3 ballot to third-place primary finisher Les Osterman. If O’Donnell wants to run for some office again in a district in which he has roots and more than a technical residence, he could do well. Meanwhile, let this be a lesson to would-be carpetbaggers: Sleep and register where you run.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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32 Comments
Raises an interesting question: What happens if a ‘kid’ buys a house that needs work and splits his time between there and his parents’ (or friend for that matter) house? At what point does one’s residence shift?
Seems his big mistake was not changing his voters registration; I also wonder if he had done address changes etc.
From what we’ve seen with politicians over the last 40+ years, isn’t it a bit hypocritical to insist that a politician must live where he “sleeps”? ;)
Now, are you being a bit cynical, RM?
To me, this entire situation shows why Michael O’Donnell needs to calm down a bit, LEARN how to run campaigns, election laws, etc before he jumps in as a candidate. He is only 22 years old. His energy and potential would be a great help for the adults running for office. I suggest Mr. O’Donnell jump on board with his fellow Republicans and learn the ropes.
Without getting into that great discussion of establishing residency and domicile (two related, albeit separate, items) of which I am able, it seems to me that there is a requirement for a candidate to be a registered voter residing in the district from which he/she is running. This is where, from what I can tell, Mr. O’Donnell erred.
I appreciate Blogs – I do see it as an opportunity to share ideas. I am Michael O’Donnell’s father, and I obviously understand the situation. It did seem to come down to the voter registration that he did miss! However, Bill Gale contacted him about that problem and said that it would be fine. He has the certification certificate that he was certified as moving on to the General election.When the residency issue arose we realized that it could be misunderstood. I pastor the church that owns the home on West Haskell where Michael resides. He is janitor at church and we traded his service for rent. The house needed work and he did the work and paid for it! We as the church are extremely pleased. His life is much more centered in SW Wichita then Bel Aire where we reside (we live there -my wife is a council women and teaches High school). Our life and ministry is and has been for 25 years (even longer as I am a South High Grad and a member of Grace Baptist for almost 40 years) in SW Wichita. We have children’s outreach on Monday’s, Wednesday’s, and Friday’s. I am on the board of the South YMCA and Michael has continued his desire to serve this comminuty.Case law showed that while he was working on the home, had his possessions in the home, was there everyday, and he had not other home in his name, he should be considered a resident. In fact at the hearing it seemed pretty well established that he proved his residence was 1435 Haskell (there are not a certain amount of hours necessary to be a resident – i.e. 3rd shift workers).What was upseting to us was – If he did not meet the registration requirement (and that caused him to lose his place on the ballot), he should have been informed so that he would not have spent donated campain funds. This has been a learning experience for Michael and I believe he is better for it! For the Record he has worked on campaigns since his early teens and will continue to do so now – While the implication “carpet baggers should learn their lesson”, could be infered, for Michael, that is not an appropriate comment. He is proud of his home and Lord willing he will be living there four years from now and he can run to represent district 4. We have plenty of signs!Michael O’Donnell II for District 4 Council – 2011
Pastor Mike – I suspect your son will have a good future in political service. I suspect the ‘kid’ just overlooked the details.
Curious – did he grow up ‘down south’ or out in Bel Aire?
Well, if we enforce that policy, it would sure keep our council members from sleeping with each other!
Ben,
I graduated from South High in 1976 (my grandparents bought their home three blocks from our church in the mid 1950’s (my nieces and nephews still live in that home). I remember picking up pop bottles and taking them to Blair’s IGA to buy candy (man does that make me sound old! – HA!)
Also, Ben you were right on overlooking the details – He just didn’t think about it!
Ben,
I graduated from South High in 1976 (my grandparents bought their home three blocks from our church in the mid 1950’s (my nieces and nephews still live in that home). I remember picking up pop bottles and taking them to Blair’s IGA to buy candy (man does that make me sound old! – HA!)
Also, Ben you were right on overlooking the details – He just didn’t think about it!
Pastor – I ahve to say it: Dumb Kid! (You and I are same generation, I’m actually a few years older than you) ;^)
You might suggest to him that he get involved in the South Central Revitalization efforts. Great place to make some allies for down the road.
Pastor – I have to say it: Dumb Kid! (You and I are same generation, I’m actually a few years older than you) ;^)
You might suggest to him that he get involved in the South Central Revitalization efforts. Great place to make some allies for down the road.
“Well, if we enforce that policy, it would sure keep our council members from sleeping with each other!”
Come on, Jed, it is much too early to deal with the mental images and the resultant puke factor.
WSC:
(a) It’s Friday, and
(b) It’s after 5 PM SOMEWHERE!
Of course, I was being cynical. I see no reason why, as, allegedly, the most qualified candidate — in the middle of moving from one residence to another — should be disqualified. I think he got screwed. This happens in peoples’ lives, they move, etc. If the opponent who “outed” him was that afraid he would lose, I would ask the electorate this: “Is this the person who you really want to defend your rights to system?” Not me!
I understand that Pastor O’Donnell wants to jump in and defend his son. However, it is probably appropriate for the O’Donnell family to understand that Michael is trying to play in a professional, adult environment. Having daddy come in and defend his son is not beneficial for Michael’s career. It’s probably best that Daddy stay out if his son wants to be taken seriously as an adult.
And I absolutely do not want a candidate in office who “just didn’t think about it!” What details would he overlook in office? What would he just ‘not think about!”
By the way Pastor – I hope you don’t take my comment the wrong way. It was intended as “dad to dad” – I have a similar age son who has often earned the title Dumb Kid.
;^)
“residence” is an extremely hard thing to figure out even legally. I know for example that people here routinely rent apartments in desired school districts for the purpose of enrolling their kids- sometimes more than one family splitting a lease on a one bedroom and they probably never spend a night there. But they register to vote and register their vehicles and have utilities there so they are “residents”. Often too are over the road truckers that set up “residence” in Florida to avoid state income taxes- often using rented mail drop addresses but because they live on the road much of the time it cannot be unproven that they are Florida residents. Generally your “residence” is where you say it is pretty much.
I graduated from East High in 77 and I remember South well. They were always having racial problems and riots over there and at Trusdell Jr High which was a South feeder school. I remember when they had to change their flag from the confederate flag and the school song from Dixie. As I recall their teams used to be the “fighting rebels” or something like that. Hopefully things have changed.
You also have situations where ‘he’ lives in another city near a job during the week and then back with family on weekends. Then what is the residence – especially for income taxes (which state for resident and which non-resident)
As someone who had a stake in this particular election I find it odd that it is almost two weeks after the primary has ocurred that this has become a issue. First the Election office dropped the ball, this is something that they should have caught, oh lets say perhaps when Mr O’Donnell filed. Second the Eagle suspected this at the time he filed according to them why wait until now to bring this up this certainly would have been useful info say before the primary. Third who filed the complaint against him my suspicion leans toward Mr Gray
As someone who had a stake in this particular election I find it odd that it is almost two weeks after the primary has ocurred that this has become a issue. First the Election office dropped the ball, this is something that they should have caught, oh lets say perhaps when Mr O’Donnell filed. Second the Eagle suspected this at the time he filed according to them why wait until now to bring this up this certainly would have been useful info say before the primary. Third who filed the complaint against him my suspicion leans toward Mr Gray
I have to be a little suspicious about this myself.
I know Mr. O’Donnell (both of them) and Michael Jr. was working on the house on Haskel before Christmas.
It was obviously a faux pas on his part that he did not change his voter registration before filing as a candidate. But I have to ask, “When you are working on a house and paying the bills, staying there a good part of the time, isn’t it your place of residence?” Even though it IS your home, fresh paint on the walls and the various glues and varnishes that are used makes a house less than pleasant at times. If I had another place to sleep I would opt for that when remodeling.
The requirement to vote, which basically establishes residence, is that a person must be 18 years old, a U.S. citizen, be a resident of their precinct and of Kansas 14 DAYS BEFORE THE ELECTION, and be registered to vote.
It would seem that Mr. O’Donnell should meet these qualifications. With the current ruling, he is denied the right to vote! His registration as a voter was accepted in District 4, where he is running for office. If the ruling is that he is not a resident at the house on Haskell, he cannot vote in District 4. Plus, he has a residence on Haskel, supported by electric bills and left overs in the refrigerator, so how could he legally register to vote in Bel Aire?
I live in District 4 and would have been proud to have Michael as my representative on the City Council. I don’t think he will see this ruling as a political Gale with nothing but Gray skys. Nor will he call in a bunch of lawyers and demand a ruling from the Supreme Court.
He has too much character to be defeated by minor setbacks.
The advice I would give young Mr. O’Donnell is simple: Leave Wichita! The people who run the town are interested only in self-preservation. You see this in the arena project, the horrible urban blight that spreads from the core outward, and the recent antics of George Kolb and that doofus Gary Rebenstorf. The Wichita Eagle is nothing but an apologist rag for all of these thugs. Face it, boy. The “powers that be” wanted Paul Gray to stay in office. They got rid of you for that reason. Sen. Pat Roberts has never lived in Kansas. He’s from Ohio. His only “residence” is a landlocked plot of ground in a field (or the Dodge City Post Office). You don’t see the Evil Eagle running to election officials complaining about that do you?
RRH – I don’t know. If he is really interested and has connections “on the street” (as opposed to GOBN downtown) he could be the kind of guy to shake things up. That is why I suggested what I did above with the revitalization group.
Pastor Mike O’Donnell’s comments in defense of his son’s mistakes amount to nothing more than ‘Chest-thumping!’ For one, I really don’t care about what he (the pastor)does or what he has done in the past 25 years. The point is Mike O’Donnell is a registered voter in Bel Aire. Therefore, he cannot run for an office in another district, another county, another state. That is a fact that Mike should have known. All this talk that he should have been informed he couldn’t hold office is pure garbage. Ignorance of the law is NO excuse. I would be hard pressed to vote for Mr. O’Donnell after this fiasco. It’s issues such as this that get politicans in trouble. I ask,”Would I want someone who is up on simple laws as this to represent my district?” Ths answer is NO! There’s no doubt Mr. O’Donnell made a mistake. But to make excuses and think that he should be exempted from the laws that govern a person qualifications is appalling to me. While the statement by Rhonda Holman may appear to be a bit strong, the message is clear. If you sleep there, you register there to vote and to run for office!
Old Manor Road,
I am sorry that my discussion of this topic was not well received by you. (I am proud of my son, but my comments were related to my presence at the hearing) We have accepted that he made a mistake. Our only contention was that he was penalized well after he had made the mistake and was told that he was a certified candidate.
Old Manor, you do not have to ever vote for Michael, again HE WAS certified as a Candidate by the Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Bill Gale. I appreciate Bill (he was willing to overlook this technicality and from my understanding has overlooked it for others). It reminded me of the “George Brett” pine tar incident (the pine tar didn’t help the Home Run – so they shouldn’t be penalized).We understand that the compounding of two issues (residency/filing) complicated the situation, and made the ruling understandable. I appreciate the comments on this blog, they are interesting. Once again I apologize for being so “Paternal” (In fact, my son said – “Dad – stop blogging) – sorry son!Finally, I believe everything in life is a learning experience!Pastor Mike
i believe that Micheal O’Donnell should have been allowed to continue his run since election commissioner Gale was the one who overlooked and gave leniency in regard to this law. If Micheal was going to be penalized, it should have happened before he spent an anormous amount of campaign money on signs and flyers and volunteers. The only reason Nola Foulston helped Paul Gray in this issue is because she can not stand honesty and Micheal O’Donnell is honest. Nola Foulston can have Paul Gray do whatever she wants him to do because he knows she holds the ultimate authority in this town.Nola must be stopped and Micheal should be allowed to run, to bad the system is set up so he can’t fight the ruling like he should be able to.I’m with you Pastor Mike, Micheal O’Donnell for City Council 2011
WS,Well, it’s politics, and you know what they say about that and strange bedfellows; some of these jokers would make mighty strange bedfellows! Best to keep them sleeping in their own districts away from temptation and all that.
In wrapping up this thread, Michael has learned much from this experience and I believe he is better for it. He put together an excellent summary on his campaign and the events surronding his ballot eligability. We hope that print it in the Eagle this week. If they don’t and you would like a copy we could e-mail it to you.the e-mail address is pastormike12@netscape.net
Thanks,
Pastor Mike
Tell your son to keep his chin up Pastor Mike! We need more young people like your son to get active in local politics and put in their ideas how best to run the community.
The future after all, will be in their hands, not the old fogies that roam the halls of City and County buildings.