Mississippi Advisory Opinions September 26, 2011: No. 2011-00371 (September 26, 2011)

No. 2011-00371.

Dear Ms. Graves:

Attorney General Jim Hood has received your request and assigned it to me for research and reply.

May the chairman of a county democratic executive committee run as an independent candidate for county elective office and continue to serve as a member and chairman of the executive committee? If he cannot, when must he resign or be removed from the executive committee? Is he disqualified as a candidate?

(1). No, as discussed below.

(2). The county executive committee member is automatically disqualified to serve on the county executive committee upon his qualification as a candidate for any county elective office.

(3). If a county executive committee member qualifies for a county office and continues to serve on the executive committee, no provision of law disqualifies him as a candidate.

Miss. Code Ann. Section 23-15-263 (1972) reads in pertinent part as follows

(2) A member of a county executive committee shall be automatically disqualified to serve on the county executive committee, and shall be considered to have resigned therefrom, upon his qualification as a candidate for any elective office.(...)

We understand that your question involves past action, which under the provisions of Miss. Code Ann. Section 9-5-25 (1972) our office cannot issue an official opinion. For the purpose of future guidance, Miss. Code Ann. Section 23-15-263 (2) states that if a member, including the chairman, of a county party executive committee qualifies as a candidate for county elective office, then said member is "automatically disqualified to serve on the county executive committee and shall be considered to have resigned therefrom...".

Thus, once the chairman qualified for office as an independent candidate for county office, he was no longer authorized by law to continue as a member of the executive committee and the remaining members should have filled the vacancy created. The manner of filling the vacancy is a matter of party rules and not a matter of state law.

While the candidate described is disqualified by operation of 23-15-263 as a member of the county executive committee, no provision of law expressly disqualifies him as a candidate for the county elective office he seeks.

Please let me know if you would like to discuss this matter or if I can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

JIM HOOD, ATTORNEY GENERAL

By:

Reese Partridge

Assistant Attorney General