Josh Bard drops bid to remain on Joplin City Council

Josh Bard's bid to remain on the Joplin City Council has come to an end.

Bard shared the following announcement with the Turner Report earlier today:

I truly appreciate and am humbled by the support of our community. I want everyone to know that I have already started the expungement process and will be running in the 2020 election for City Council. I will be doing all that I can over the next year and a half to help our Police and Fire Departments, as well as working to change the statutes that directly affect those that are trying to better themselves.

Bard's decision came one day after Judge Dean Dankelson issued an order requiring him to answer allegations that he cannot serve on City Council because of a 2006 drug conviction.

Bard's attorney, Wes Barnum, filed a motion to dismiss today in Jasper County Circuit Court.