Challenge to Marion mayoral candidate thrown out

It took a city review committee less than 30 minutes this morning to dispose of a Marion resident's challenge to mayoral candidate Allen "Snooks" Bouska.

"It was a frivolous objection," Bouska said after the hearing at city hall. "We had all the bases covered for this."

The panel of Mayor Paul Rehn, City Clerk Wes Nelson, and City Councilmember Steve Sprague took about five minutes to reject Matthew Kiesling's first objection to Bouska's candidacy. Rehn noted there's nothing in state law requiring a candidate to live in the city in which they're running at the time of the election - only when they take office.

"By that standard, Mr. Bouska is eligible to be a candidate for the office he seeks," Rehn said.

It took a few minutes longer for the committee to disallow Kiesling's second objection. Kiesling wrote that in his affidavit of candidacy Bouska listed a Post Office box as a mailing address and a business address, 708 Eighth Ave., as his home address.

The Eighth Avenue address is that of Gateway Travel. Bouska said he's living in an apartment in the same building, although its owners hadn't registered the address as a rental property with the city.

"I find nothing wrong with this affidavit," Linn County Auditor Joel Miller testified.

Miller said the law requires merely the physical location where a voter or candidate lives.

"Voting is based upon a physical address. It can be under a bridge," he said. "It doesn't have to be a valid U.S. Post Office address."

City Manager Lon Pluckhahn testified the official notices of today's hearing were both mailed to Bouska's Post Office box and hand-delivered by police to the Eighth Avenue apartment, where Bouska said he found them after closing his Dairy Queen restaurant for the evening.

After a five-minute recess, the committee voted unanimously to affirm Bouska's affidavit, quashing Kiesling's objections.

No one appeared to testify in support of the challenge. Kiesling wasn't at the hearing, which was attended by about 15 people, all apparently Bouska backers.

After the hearing, Bouska said he'd consulted Miller to ensure he'd meet the legal requirements for candidacy.

"I didn't want to have the hopes and the expectations of all my supporters go up in flames," he said.

Bouska said he's maintained the Eighth Avenue apartment the past 90 days. He and his wife have a home in Hiawatha but plan to move to a Marion home they just closed on this week.