A court order was signed on Aug. 27 to remove Edward Page’s name as a Republican candidate for 23rd Circuit Division 2 judge on the Nov. 3 ballot.
According to court records, Page requested on Aug. 26 a motion and order for withdrawal of candidacy.
Jefferson County Division 4 Circuit Judge Brenda Stacey signed the order on Aug. 27. According to the Secretary of State’s Office website, the final certification date for the November ballot was Aug. 25.
Page, who was seeking his first full term in office after being appointed to the seat by Gov. Mike Parson in March 2022, retired with two days of notice on April 30, telling the presiding judge he wanted to spend more time with his family.
Since July, Page was listed as inactive with the Missouri Bar Association. In the August primary, he was the lone candidate and received 21,667 votes. No one else had filed for the position.
Jessie Shepherd, chairperson of the Jefferson County Democratic Central Committee, said she heard about the court order on Aug. 27 and the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office notified the state parties hours later.
With the court order, state statute allows filing to reopen for any party, Shepherd said.
Local Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians will have the opportunity to put a nominee on the November ballot, but they must do it before Sept. 8 when the ballots print, she said.
“I don’t know why he wouldn’t have removed his name from the ballot before the August primary,” she said.
Anne Marie Moy, spokesperson for the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office, issued a statement Monday afternoon.
“Resigning/retiring from the bench does not automatically withdraw a candidate from a reelection race,” she said. “Mr. Page failed to withdraw from the primary election within the specified window and so his name appeared on the August ballot. He has since sought an order and shared it with our office, authorizing his name to be removed from the November ballot.
“As he was unopposed on the general election ballot, we have notified all established political parties (Republican, Democratic, and Libertarian) and each will have the opportunity to nominate one candidate to the race by Sept. 8 at 5 p.m. The county clerk is aware of the situation and once candidates have filed for the position, we will issue a supplemental certification placing those names on the ballot in that race.”
When asked if Gov. Mike Kehoe planned to make an appointment, his office responded by saying, “Governor Kehoe values the importance of continuity in our courts but also understands that this is a unique situation given the timing of the election and the questions that remain about the November ballot. The Governor’s Office will let those questions be resolved before considering an interim appointment.”
Vic Melenbrink, presiding circuit judge for Jefferson County, said when Page retired, Division 2 had a full caseload, including juvenile cases, which are a high-priority docket.
He said Page’s caseload was split up and reassigned to several other divisions.
“It’s increased the caseload for the five other circuit divisions,” he said. “I am definitely looking forward to getting a judge into that Division 2 spot.”
Prior to becoming circuit judge, Page had been the Division 11 associate circuit judge since 2018.
Page, a 1983 Festus High School graduate, earned a law degree from St. Louis University and was in private practice before he was elected associate circuit judge.
He had also served for 13 years as municipal judge of Crystal City.