One of three candidates seeking to become the Democratic nominee this fall for a seat in the state House faces eligibility questions because of a decades-old conviction that later led to a presidential pardon, party officials said this week.
Democratic officials are seeking a replacement nominee for the Nov. 3 general election because the winner of the March 3 primary, Rep. Chris Richey, D-Helena-West Helena, no longer lives in House District 12. He left to take a job in Saline County.
Legal questions surrounding the candidacy of Jimmie Wilson, a former state representative, are behind repeated delays in holding a nominating convention to fill the vacancy on the general election ballot, according to state Democratic Party Chairman Michael John Gray.
The latest delay came Monday, when Gray sent a letter to the convention delegates saying that their meeting scheduled for that evening would be pushed back another week, to next Monday.
Gray said the reason for the delay was because of the eligibility of one candidate being "brought into question" over a past conviction.
That was an apparent reference to the 74-year-old Wilson, who in 1991 pleaded guilty to illegally converting federal farm loans for his own use and selling mortgaged crops. He was sentenced to 4½ months in prison.
Wilson, who served several terms in the Arkansas House after being convicted, was later pardoned by President Bill Clinton on Jan. 20, 2001, Clinton's final day in office, according to the U.S. Department of Justice's website.
Since then, however, the law has changed regarding what kinds of crimes make a person ineligible to hold office in Arkansas.
Voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2016 that forbids anyone convicted of misdemeanor offenses that involve "deceit, fraud or false statement" from holding office.
In Gray's letter, he also pointed to a 1964 Arkansas Supreme Court opinion that found that a pardon did not restore a prospective gubernatorial candidate's right to hold public office.
"There are legal arguments on many sides, and there is the potential that someone could file a lawsuit to challenge our nominee," Gray wrote in the letter. "If that were to happen, the DPA would certainly fight to ensure that the person that you, the delegates chose, remained on the ballot. I simply wanted you to have all the facts and an understanding of why we have delayed."
Attempts to reach Wilson for comment Tuesday were unsuccessful.
The other candidates seeking the general election nomination are former Helena-West Helena Mayor James Valley and Elaine Mayor Michael Cravens, according to state Democratic Party spokesman Jacob Kauffman.
In a phone conversation Tuesday, Gray said he had not asked Wilson to step aside for one of the other two candidates.
Valley said he did not think Wilson had been asked to withdraw from the race.
Cravens said Tuesday that he had not seen Gray's letter, and he declined to comment.
Valley said he supported the decision to delay the convention in order to allow the convention's eight delegates to assess the legal ramifications that Wilson's conviction and pardon could have on the race.
"I think the delegates are very familiar with Mr. Wilson and that issue," Valley said. "As far as the legal impact, I'm not sure they know that."
House District 12, which covers portions of four counties in the Arkansas Delta, is typically a Democratic stronghold.
Two years ago, Richey won reelection over his Republican opponent by more than 23 percentage points.
David Tollett of Lexa, a Republican who filed this year to run for the seat, said Tuesday that if Wilson were nominated, his campaign would consider challenging Wilson's ability to appear on the ballot.
"We would look at it from every angle and see if he would be eligible to run," Tollett said.
The winner of the Nov. 3 election will serve a two-year term starting in mid-January 2021.
Annie Depper, an attorney for the Democratic Party who researched the issue for Gray's letter, declined to say Tuesday whether she believed Wilson's conviction to be legally disqualifying, citing the possibility of having to defend his candidacy in court.
"It's a delicate position to be the nominee," Depper said. "We'll certainly defend that position."
Valley, one of the other two candidates, said the law on the issue "seems pretty clear" in barring Wilson from office.
However, he also acknowledged that Wilson, a veteran attorney who represented the Lake View School District in a landmark school-funding lawsuit, maintains significant support in the area.
"I would not want to be a delegate at this point," Valley said.
In a related matter Monday, Gov. Asa Hutchinson scheduled a special election, also on Nov. 3, to fill the remainder of Richey's current term. The special primary elections will take place Aug. 11.