LINCOLN, Neb. - The owner of a chain of adult stores has asked a judge to let him continue his run for city council here.
John "Doctor John" Haltom, who owns Doctor John's stores in Nebraska, Missouri, and Illinois, had filed the proper paperwork to run for the open council seat. The Lancaster County Board of Elections informed the 41-year-old earlier this month that a prior felony conviction made him ineligible to seek and hold office.
Haltom was convicted of selling an adult video to a 17-year-old during a police sting operation in 2000 in Salt Lake City.
On Friday, Haltom and his attorney appeared before a Lancaster County district judge, arguing that the Board of Elections misinterpreted a Nebraska law that bars felons from holding public office unless they have been pardoned and their civil rights restored.
Attorney Brian Vakulskas argued that while the state constitution prohibits people convicted of a felony from holding a position of trust or profit, holding the office of city councilman doesn't fall under those restrictions.
"There's a provision in the United States constitution that delineates between a senator, a representative and an office of trust and profit," Vakulskas told Kolnkgin.com. "By extrapolation, we argued that the office of city council, which is a legislative branch in the city of Lincoln, is not an office of trust and profit because the federal constitution makes that distinction between the legislature and an office of trust and profit."
The judge is expected to issue a ruling on the matter this week.
The primary election for Lincoln city council is scheduled for April 7.
