Mississippi Advisory Opinions December 23, 2004: AGO 2004-0628 (December 23, 2004)

Advisory Opinion Text

Alderman James Butts, Sr.

City of Winona

618 Dennis Street S

Winona, Mississippi 38967

Re: Simultaneously Running for Alderman and Mayor

Dear Alderman Butts:

Attorney General Jim Hood has received your letter of request and assigned it to me for research and reply. Your letter states:

As an Alderman for the City of Winona I would appreciate it if you could render an opinion on the following questions:

May an individual simultaneously run in a municipal election for the offices of Alderman and Mayor? Would it make any difference if the individual is already serving as alderman?

While we do not believe the statutes contemplate it, we find nothing that would prevent one, including a sitting alderman, from running simultaneously for the offices of alderman and mayor provided, of course, the individual meets all qualifications for the two offices. Obviously, one could not serve in both positions simultaneously because inter alia it would violate the doctrine of separation of powers set forth in Sections 1 and 2 of the Mississippi Constitution . We also point out that, should the candidate win both elections, the city would have to conduct a special election to fill the vacancy in the office which the candidate chose not to enter.

Sincerely,

Jim Hood, Attorney General

Phil Carter, Special Assistant Attorney General