[8/29/03]Kenneth Downs’ candidacy for District 1 supervisor got approval Thursday from Warren County election commissioners, but only if he provides written confirmation he actually lives in the district.

Downs, 39, maintained that he should be allowed a spot on the Nov. 4 general-election ballot as long as he meets the residency requirement for the district, regardless of whether his primary residence is there.

“We require that you deliver a letter to the Warren County Circuit Clerk’s Office stating that you do in fact live at 1655 Dillon Ridge Road as your primary residence,” said a Wednesday letter to Downs signed by all five election commissioners. The letter also sets a Sept. 10 delivery deadline for such a letter from Downs.

If certified, Downs would face District 1 incumbent and Republican primary winner, David McDonald, 53, and independents Billy R. Boone, 53, and Michael J. Terry, 56.

Before the March 1 deadline, Downs filed to seek election as an independent candidate from District 1 and listed an address that had been in District 1, but became part of District 2 when lines were shifted in the county’s redistricting process.

Property Downs has purchased on Dillon Ridge Road, however, is in the current District 1, and he has told commissioners he plans to establish a residence on that land.

“Please accept this letter of intent as evidence of my intention to maintain 1655 Dillon Ridge Road, Vicksburg, Miss., as my place of residence,” Downs wrote to the election commission in a letter filed June 26.

Downs has been discussing the residency requirement with election commissioners since shortly after he filed qualifying papers. Downs has said he has interpreted residency-requirement laws differently than commissioners.

Attorney General’s Office opinions have said such questions are “a decision of the appropriate election officials,” Assistant Attorney General Heather Wagner said.

“There is no bright-line test,” she said, adding that previous decisions “basically look at what is the candidate’s intent.”

The redistricting was made necessary by population shifts as reflected in the 2000 Census. The county’s redistricting plan took effect with the party primaries that began Aug. 5.