A controversy has arisen regarding the correct name that should have been used for the candidacy of Janeen Gordon on the May 3rd county Democratic primary ballot.
Gordon, who finished ahead in the primary, was listed on the final ballot as Janeen Fullilove Gordon, with the middle name being that of her mother, Janis Fullilove, who was retiring at the time from the position of Juvenile Court Clerk, which Gordon sought.
Stephanie Gatewood, third-place finisher in that race, is now formally challenging Gordon’s win on the basis that “Fullilove” was a misleading part of the ballot name, contending that it was never part of Gordon’s actual legal name.
Gordon herself has maintained that the name “Fullilove” has often been used to designate her, and that she at one time was called “L’il Fullilove.”
It was at the February 28th meeting of the Shelby County Election Commission that several audience members addressed an agenda item regarding the pending certification of the then-forthcoming ballot. It was on that occasion that activist Theryn Bond spoke up on behalf of candidate Gordon, whose campaign she managed, with the aim, she said, of making sure that the name “Fullilove” was included as part of the candidate’s ballot name.
Brent Taylor, now the Republican nominee for the state Senate but then still serving as chairman of the Election Commission, responded at the time that the candidate’s name would go on the ballot exactly as she had used it on her application for candidacy. Reminded of that this week, he said that he personally had not checked the accuracy of the name but assumed that someone on the commission staff had.
Taylor, who was reached while on a family trip out of state, stopped to forward an Excel copy of the candidate names received by the Election Commission at the February 28th meeting. On it, Gordon’s name is listed merely as “Janeen Gordon.”
The primary election ballots were certified by the Election Commission that night, on February 28th, and the ballot certified then contains the name “Janeen Fullilove-Gordon.”
Marcus Mitchell, the fourth-place finisher in the Juvenile Court Clerk’s race, has joined with Gatewood in her challenge. Reginald Milton, who finished as runner-up to Gordon, has said he would not join the challenge, nor would he seek to impede it.