There was chatter over the summer that Democrats in the 8th Congressional District would turn to Ingham Circuit Judge James Giddings as a replacement candidate against Mike Rogers. Giddings, went the story, would be picked by party leaders to replace Kande Ngalamulume.
There may be a complication to that, or may not be.
There may be a complication to that, or may not be.
Ngalamulume created a bureaucratic headaches for Dems when he shut down his campaign after the filing deadline. Democrats went from one candidate on the primary ballot to none, since they couldn’t remove Ngalamulume’s name.
Lance Enderle launched a write-in bid in the primary, but Ngalamulume “won” the nomination. In the days after the primary, Ngalamulume said he was back in the race, then he was back out. He has reportedly registered to vote in Pennsylvania, the first step in allowing the Dems to pick a replacement.
But the new name on the ballot may not be Giddings'.
The long-time jurist faces mandatory retirement under provision of the Michigan Constitution. So, you have a public servant without a job and a ballot slot without a candidate. Game, set, match?
Well .... while rooting around the Michigan Constitution yesterday to understand the nuances of replacing Elizabeth Weaver on the Michigan Supreme Court, I came across this constitutional provision:
“Sec. 21. — Any justice or judge of a court of record shall be ineligible to be nominated for or elected to an elective office other than a judicial office during the period of his service and for one year thereafter.”
Help me out, con law experts, does this cover any elective office or only state elective offices? If the former, that would mean no run for 8th District, presuming, of course, that the judge even wants to run and 8th District Dem leaders want him on the ballot.
(UPDATE, 3:17 p.m.): My colleagues down at the Livingston Daily Press & Argus are reporting that Enderle is the Dems' pick, but that Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land (not a Dem) is putting up a roadblock.
