Mississippi Advisory Opinions February 28, 1995: AGO 95-0126 (February 28, 1995)

Advisory Opinion Text

John H. White, Jr., Esquire

Attorney for City of McComb

Post Office Box 667

McComb, Mississippi 39648-0667

Re: Policeman as Candidate for Sheriff

Dear Mr. White:

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

“There is a policeman employed by the city that has asked if he can run for sheriff without affecting his job as a policeman.

I would like your opinion on the following questions:

1. May a city policeman run for sheriff and still carry on his duties as a policeman?

2. Would the policeman be allowed to take a leave of absence without pay to run for sheriff?

3. Would the policeman have to resign his job as a police officer to run for sheriff?”

We understand that policemen for the City of McComb are subject to civil service regulations.

In response to your questions, please see the enclosed copy of an opinion addressed to Mr. Oscar R. Jordan, dated January 19, 1989. In Jordan we addressed the question of a civil service employee running for a municipal office and opined that Mississippi Code Annotated, Sections 21-31-27 and 21-31-75 (Revised 1990) would authorize the dismissal for cause of a covered employee who participates as a candidate for an elective office “in a municipality where he is employed” and stated that “we do not think that the legislative purpose is furthered by creating an exception that permits a civil service employee to claim exemption from the restrictions of these statutes by taking a leave of absence without pay”. We concluded by saying “(i)f he desires to seek election to municipal office, he should sever his employment relation with the municipality”.

Your questions concern a civil service employee who wishes to seek a county office which, in our opinion, is not prohibited by the civil service statutes cited above. Therefore, we are of the opinion that a municipal civil service employee may be candidate for a county office without resigning his municipal employment. However, we caution that an employee who runs for a county office must not campaign during hours he is being paid to perform his duties as a municipal employee. We find nothing in the statutes that would preclude the employee from electing to take a leave of absence. Such leave must, of course, be in accordance with any applicable municipal civil service regulations in effect.

Sincerely,

Mike Moore, Attorney General.

Phil Carter Assistant Attorney General.