Former Joplin councilman’s felony removed, plans for 2020 council bid

Conviction expunged.

Joshua Bard was a Joplin City Council member for a short time in April 2018 before being removed from the seat because of a prior felony conviction stemming from 2006. It is against state law for convicted felons to run for office.

However, a Newton County judge removed that charge related to manufacturing meth from his record on Monday. He completed probation related to the charge in 2012.

Bard tells Newstalk KZRG that he’s ecstatic and feels vindicated about the decision and is ready to make another run at council next year. “There’s not going to be any obstacles this time so I think the 2020 bid should be a smooth run,” said Bard.

Bard also noted that the police and fire pay issue should remain a top priority for the city as he thinks there will be a lot of interest for the 2020 election. “I think that over the last year, year and a half, things with the city have become more brought to light so I think you’ll see a lot more people interested in the city government.”

“With Sam [Anselm] leaving and Jim West leaving there are a lot of unanswered questions and I think people are actually wanting to get answers to those questions,” added Bard.

Bard adds that still one of his big priorities is getting police and fire pay up to par.