Assessor candidate removed from ballot

Gene Munnings won't appear on the ballot as a candidate for Carson City assessor.

Clerk Alan Glover said Friday he called Munnings on Wednesday to inform him as a convicted felon, he would have to be removed from the ballot. In a letter consenting to the removal, Glover said Munnings cited health reasons when he asked that his name be dropped from the ballot.

Munnings said Friday he asked for his name to be removed from the ballot because of a conflicting work schedule.

"I just couldn't devote the time for the next two years to that job and still have a life," he said.

Glover said while the deadline to remove a name from the ballot had passed, Munnings was removed under provisions of the city's charter and the state constitution because as a felon, he isn't qualified to serve if elected.

Munnings, 44, was convicted in 1980 of two felony arson counts and spent nearly eight years in the Maryland Correctional Institution.

Munnings said according to rules in Maryland, he is not a convicted felon. As far as that state is concerned, he has the right to vote and run for office. He said he checked with Maryland officials before filing, but recently learned the statutes in Nevada regarding felons aren't the same.

Maryland law does not disenfranchise first-time offenders, but does take away the right to vote for second-time offenders.

Glover said the clerk's office doesn't check to see if those who file are felons. All electoral applicants sign under the penalty of perjury that they are qualified to serve.

Munnings was one of three vying for the assessor seat being vacated by Kit Weaver, who is retiring after 16 years in the post. Carson City Chief Deputy Assessor Dave Dawley and Taunya Milligan, a real estate broker/agent, are vying for the seat and now will not face a primary election in September, Glover said.