The attorney for a Spotsylvania County School Board candidate described a lawsuit filed by a county resident requesting his client be removed from the ballot for the ongoing election as “frivolous.”
Nicholas Potts, a Battlefield District resident and registered voter, filed a complaint in Spotsylvania Circuit Court on Sept. 11 seeking a declaratory judgment that candidate James King lives at Turning Leaf Court in the Livingston District and not at N. Danford Street in the Battlefield, the address he listed when he registered to vote in March.
A response filed by Alexandria-based attorney Joseph Drennan, however, states that the plaintiff’s own evidence contradicts the complaint, noting that Potts’ lawsuit includes information from search engines that show King lived on Turning Leaf Court from April 17, 2021, to Jan. 24, 2025.
Drennan’s response stated that after King moved from Turning Leaf Court, he rented a bedroom for $1 per month at the home of a deacon at the church he pastors in the county.
The response, which was filed Sept. 26, also states that King signed a lease on Sept. 18 to move into another home in the Battlefield District. That lease takes effect on Wednesday. Real estate agent Janice Boles provided a sworn statement that King was renting the home on Turning Leaf Court, but no longer lives there, and is using the property “temporarily to keep some personal furnishings in storage.”
“Look, he moved into the district to run for office,” Drennan said. “So, what. People do that. This idea that he still lives out in Fawn Lake [on Turning Leaf Court] is an absolute, unmitigated falsehood … This is pretty outrageous if you ask me. In politics, they talk about the October surprise, but this takes the cake.”
Potts’ complaint states that background checks on the N. Danford Street property do not list King as a resident, but Drennan said the proof the plaintiff provided in his complaint was based on “search tools” and therefore amounts to flimsy evidence.
According to Virginia law, “each person appointed or elected to a school board shall, at the time of his appointment or election, be a qualified voter and a bona fide resident of the district from which he is selected.” Potts argues that King is not a bona fide resident of the Battlefield.
Jeremiah Sims, the deacon who allowed King to rent a bedroom, provided a sworn statement that, since Jan. 15, he’s allowed King to live with him on a month-to-month basis. He also said that King is a bona fide resident of the home, as required by Virginia election law.
“I regularly see him staying there when I am home, coupled with the fact that Pastor King receives mail addressed to him at my home address,” Sims wrote.
King is vying for the seat vacated by Nicole Cole, who is running as a Democrat for House District 66 in the House of Delegates.
Jennifer Craig Ford and Nick Ignacio are also running for Cole’s vacated seat.
Sims’ declaration states that he was informed by a neighbor that, while he was vacationing in Costa Rica, Ignacio drove onto his property and left a business card on the front door. He stated that Ignacio then questioned the neighbor, who declined to respond.
Sims said he was so unnerved by Ignacio’s visit that he asked King to place a “No Trespassing” sign in the yard.
Ignacio told the Free Press he visited to meet with King and request that he attend a debate for the three candidates; Ignacio was the lone Battlefield candidate not to attend a forum held by the Free Press on Sept. 3.
He said he had a friendly conversation with the neighbor, who told him that King was watching the home while Sims was away.
Ignacio said he does not agree with Drennan’s stance that King is a bona fide Battlefield resident.
“You can’t rent a room for $1 a month and say, ‘I’m going to run here,’” Ignacio said.
Potts also named in his complaint Spotsylvania General Registrar Kellie Acors and Virginia State Board of Elections Chair James O’Bannon. All defendants have 21 days to file a response. Drennan said that Acors and O’Bannon have yet to respond. He said the court will not set a hearing date until all defendants respond. He said a hearing could take place in late October or even after the election.
Drennan is requesting that Potts pay attorney fees and any of King’s costs associated with the lawsuit, “for having signed and filed a frivolous complaint containing multiple false allegations.” He said the lawsuit was filed for the purpose of disparaging King’s candidacy.
This case is not the only one in the region involving a dispute over a candidate’s residence. A trio of Stafford County voters recently sued to kick Stacey Carroll off the ballot in the race for House District 64, contending that she lives in District 23.
