Audio By Carbonatix
We’re not sure which bit of news is worse for the townspeople of Pawnee, Oklahoma — the fact that the state of Arizona effectively banned their newly elected mayor from taking office or that voters there picked a marijuana-transporting, drive-by-shooting convict as their mayor in the first place.
Call them crazy, but the state of Oklahoma has a law that makes the transition from prison to politician difficult — 15 years need to pass after the end of a sentence for a convicted felon to serve in public office, or cons can get a pardon to become immediately eligible.
The Associated Press reports that the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency denied Christopher Linder’s request for a pardon this morning, leaving Pawnee mayor-less even longer.
Linder was released from an Arizona prison in 2005, after serving five years for attempting to transport marijuana and taking part in a drive-by shooting.
In his abridged recollection of the crime given to KSAZ, Linder says, “There was a drug deal that was supposed to go, and there was counterfeit money involved… shots were fired.”
Although he had made his felony conviction public to the 2,200-resident town of Pawnee, Linder still garnered 259 votes in the April mayoral election — enough for a win in the three-way race.
But Oklahoma still doesn’t take too kindly to convicts holding office, and Arizona wasn’t about to deviate from its tough-on-crime demeanor.
Now, the seat of Pawnee mayor temporarily goes to its City Council president — assuming that person doesn’t have a rap sheet, too — and a special election will be held to find someone who hasn’t worn a prison jumpsuit to run the place.
