Oak Hill city manager can't vote, says State

Felony conviction means Oak Hill city manager can't vote, despite proclamation by city that he can stay on the job "because he never lost his right to vote"

Email | Print By Ken Whitehouse

Oak Hill City Manager Dr. William H. Kraus cannot vote in Tennessee because of a felony conviction he received in California, according to the Tennessee Division of Elections.

Kraus, who at times has led the charge to block the construction of an underground entertainment facility on the grounds of Tennessee's executive residence, was convicted of a felony while a city manager in California in 1985. The conviction was discovered by WKRN's political blog, VolunteerVoters.com.

Kraus, who has maintained that the judge who sentenced him in California said that he had not lost right his to vote, did not mention that he had a felony conviction when he filled out his voter registration card in Davidson County.

Upon discovery of the conviction, however, the Davidson County Election Commission purged Kraus from its rolls and asked the State Election Commission to issue an opinion on whether it had handled the matter correctly. Today, the State Election Commission has concurred with the county – click here to read the letter – and said that, in order for Kraus to vote again, he must seek to have the right reinstated by a court.

An interesting twist in this saga is that the City of Hill posted this message on its Web site:

"Dr. William H. Kraus is not prohibited from serving as Oak Hill City Manager because of a 20-year-old guilty plea in California.

The law firm of Waller Landsen Dortch & Davis reviewed the relevant facts and applicable laws to provide a legal opinion that Dr. Kraus is not prohibited by law from serving as City Manager because he never lost his right to vote in California or in Tennessee."

The letter backing up this statement was written on Jan. 16 by Waller attorney Mark W. Peters. However, on Jan. 22, NashvillePost.com reported that the Davidson County Election Commission had revoked Kraus' voting privileges and the matter was being reviewed by the state.

With today's ruling by the State Election Commission, Oak Hill may now be forced to revisit the issue.