Man accused of stealing from church is elected to office

BATTLE GROUND, Wash. - A man accused of stealing thousands of dollars from his church has been elected to office in Battle Ground.

Art Nelson faces 12 counts of theft and will go to trial on Dec. 19. Members of Grace Fellowship in Ridgefield, where Nelson was a deacon, claim he wrote himself thousands of dollars worth of checks that were actually meant for charity.

On Tuesday, the final election results were tallied and Nelson came out on top in his bid for a seat on the Battle Ground City Council over competitor Tom Schultz.

KATU News called Nelson and told him he had won the election, but he refused to speak to us. He claims we are biased and have never asked him for his side of the story, even though he does admit that we have called and stopped by his home multiple times.

If Nelson is convicted of a felony, he cannot hold office.