JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Instead of hitting the campaign trail, Republican Group 1 At-Large candidate Deborah Wesley spent her Friday before Election Day in a courtroom.
But at the end of the 5-hour hearing involving multiple witnesses, her name was cleared.
A judge found Deborah Wesley has lived in the district long enough to run for city council Group 1 At-Large and dismissed the lawsuit that called her residency into question with prejudice.
“This is nothing but political warfare. So, I’m glad that it’s over now and I can move forward with my campaign,” said Wesley, after the ruling was announced.
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The race for Jacksonville City Council Group 1 At-Large has been marred by litigation.
First, the local GOP unsuccessfully tried to get a libertarian candidate kicked off the ballot, and Friday’s hearing was the third time Wesley’s residency was called into question.
Wesley was sued by a resident in the district who challenged whether she’d lived in the district long enough to run for the seat.
To qualify, Wesley had to have lived in the district since at least December 10 of last year.
She claimed to have moved into the district last July, but still owns a home she used to live in outside the district.
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In court, Wesley took the stand and responded to questions about electric usage at the old home, which remained relatively unchanged even after she claimed to have moved out. She also answered questions about why her car had been spotted there multiple times in recent months.
Wesley explained her daughter has been living there and occasionally borrows her car.
Meanwhile, Wesley said she had been living in an apartment complex within the Group 1 At-Large district.
“From December 10th of 2025, did you ever sleep anywhere other than the apartment Integra 117?” Wesley’s attorney asked while she was on the stand.
”No," Wesley responded.
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Process server JD Padgett also took the stand.
He testified he served Wesley earlier this year as part of another case, and claimed he found her at the old home.
“Can you point out where Miss Deborah Wesley that you served is sitting,” the defense attorney asked Padgett.
”The lady in the yellow shirt and the black jacket," Padgett responded while pointing at Wesley.
But Wesley’s daughter Ebony Townsend countered the process server’s story.
She took the stand and testified she was the one who answered the door that day, not her mother.
“I was shocked,” Townsend said when describing her reaction to being handed the papers.
In the end the judge ruled in favor of Wesley, and argued the documentation provided by the defense backed her claim that she had lived in the district since July of last year.
The outcome ensures votes already cast for Wesley will be counted, along with those she receives on election day itself.
“I live where I’m supposed to live. I’ve been serving with honesty. I will continue to do that,” Wesley said.
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