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Clay County Recorder of Deeds Bob Sevier failed to drop off his financial statement by the deadline and picked up an opponent for the general election in November.

The Missouri Ethics Commission announced April 28 that four candidates for the Aug. 3 primary election were disqualified for failing to file a personal financial disclosure statement to the commission within three weeks of the filing period closing.

Sevier, a Democrat seeking his fourth term as recorder of deeds, was the only incumbent in Clay County who was disqualified. Also disqualified were Democrats Jane Rinehart and Jay Lawson — both running for presiding commissioner against current Commissioner Ed Quick — and Ebony Rose, running for collector of revenue.

“I’m embarrassed and humbled,” Sevier said by phone May 7 of his failure to file the documents. “I’ve overlooked it, and it was my fault.”

The story doesn’t end there, though.

State law requires candidate filing to reopen for a period of five days in any instance where the disqualified candidate is “the incumbent or the only candidate ….” Sevier was both the incumbent and the only candidate to file for the office, so the Clay County Board of Elections reopened filing for the recorder of deeds seat for five working days. Filing closed May 5, according to Dave Reinhart, Republican director.

Sevier re-filed and will be the only Democrat on the August ballot. However, his initial disqualification allowed a pair of Republicans to file for the office. Mike Ebenroth of Kearney and Lawson both filed for the office as Republicans. The two will face off in the August primary, and the winner will advance to face Sevier in the November general election.

Lawson, who switched parties to run as a Democrat for presiding commissioner before being disqualified, returned to the political party he represented when he served as Eastern District commissioner until 2000. He also ran unsuccessfully for presiding commissioner in 2006 as a Republican.

Sevier, who said he traveled to Jefferson City to hand in all the required paperwork the second time around, said he was fine with drawing opponents for his office.

“That comes with being in politics, and I look forward to running,” he said.

News Editor Jeffrey M. Salem can be reached at 389-6653 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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