Mississippi Advisory Opinions August 15, 1990: AGO 000007531 (August 15, 1990)

AGO 000007531.

Dear Mayor Walker:

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

Your letter states:

"Pursuant to our conversation of August 3, 1990, I am herewith requesting some assistance from the Office of the Attorney General. My concern centers around the legality of elected officials holding positions on political party executive committees.

I would appreciate it if you would address the following points:

1. The legality of an elected official holding an executive committee position with a political party. (It would help if you would address the legality of a municipal official serving on a county executive committee and a county official serving on a municipal executive committee.) 2. If the response to any part of point one (1) is affirmative, please address the consequences of being elected to an executive committee while holding an elected position, or the effect of being on an executive committee and want to run for an elected office.

While the points raised may seem simple, your response will clear up something that is very important to a number of people."

Mississippi Code Annotated 23-15-263 (Special Pamphlet, 1989) provides in part:

"(1) The county executive committee at primary elections shall discharge the functions imposed upon the county election commissioners, except as to revising the registration and pollbooks, and shall be subject to all the penalties to which county election commissioners are subject, except that Section 23-15- 217 shall not apply to members of the county executive committee who seek elective office. (2) A member of a county executive committee shall be automatically disqualified to serve on the count executive committee, and shall be considered to have resigned therefrom, upon his qualification as a candidate for any elective office. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to a member of a county executive committee who qualifies as a candidate for a municipal elective office."

Section 23-15-217 (1) provides in part:

"A commissioner of election of any county shall not be a candidate for any other office at any election held or to be held during the four-year term for which he has been elected to the office of commissioner of election or with reference to which he has acted as such;..."

Section 23-15-171 provides in part:

"...(T)he municipal executive committee shall perform the same duties as are specified by law and performed by members of the county executive committee with regard to state and county primary elections..." Based on the above quoted code sections it is the opinion of this office that:

1. Any elected official may serve on either a county or municipal party executive committee. 2. An elected municipal official serving on a municipal executive committee, upon qualification as a candidate for re-election or election to another municipal office is, by operation of law, automatically removed from said municipal executive committee. 3. An elected municipal official serving on a municipal executive committee, upon qualification as a candidate for a county or state office, may continue to serve on said municipal executive committee. 4. An elected municipal official serving on a county executive committee, upon qualification as a candidate for re-election or election to another municipal office, may continue to serve on said county executive committee. 5. An elected county or state official serving on a county executive committee, upon qualification as a candidate for re-election or election to another state or county office is, by operation of law, automatically removed from said county executive committee. 6. An elected county or state official serving on a municipal executive committee, upon qualification as a candidate for re-election or election to another state or county office, may continue to serve on said municipal executive committee. 7. An elected county or state official serving on a municipal executive committee, upon qualification as a candidate for a municipal office is, by operation of law, automatically removed from said municipal executive committee.

Sincerely,

MIKE MOORE, ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY:

Phil Carter Special Assistant Attorney General

PC:mfd