A North Liberty man who had filed his candidacy for a soon-to-be-open St. Joe County commissioner seat has announced he’s not eligible because he didn’t live in the district in 2020.
Republican Tom McCormick said Thursday that state election officials have confirmed that he must live within the Third District commissioner boundaries as they existed in 2020 when Commissioner Deb Fleming was elected. Republicans redrew the boundaries in 2022 to make them more friendly to their party’s candidates.
But McCormick said he had been planning to run for the seat before Fleming announced her plans to resign, effective Jan. 31, to seek treatment for a serious medical condition. For the November 2024 election, he will be eligible to run and said he still plans to.
McCormick said running for the full term will give him more time to prepare his electrical services business for his partial absence, should he be elected.
"I guess I'm counting this as a blessing," McCormick said. "With that, that will still allow me to focus on what I need to focus on with my business, getting that dialed in."
County Republican Party Chair Tyler Gillean has 30 days from Jan. 31 to call a party caucus to elect her replacement.
