Mayoral candidate Duggan not out yet

A day after a Wayne County Circuit judge removed frontrunner Mike Duggan from Detroit’s mayoral race over residency requirements, the former prosecutor plans to launch an appeal and a renewed effort to stay on the ballot.

His campaign made the announcement today following Judge Lita M. Popke’s decision that Duggan was not a Detroit resident for the required year before turning in his signatures to become an official candidate for mayor. Duggan plans to argue that he was a resident for a year by the filing deadline, even if he wasn’t when he submitted his signatures.

The judge’s decision overturned the city election commission’s 2-1 vote to keep Duggan on the ballot.

Mayor candidate Tom Barrow, who has been calling for Duggan’s removal from the ballot, told me today that he doesn’t believe an appeal will be successful.

“The judge addressed each argument,” Barrow said.

Duggan has been accused of being a carpetbagger. He moved from Livonia to Detroit in March 2012 but failed to register until April 16, 2012. Duggan filed petitions to run for Mayor on April 2, full weeks short the mandated  one-year residency requirement, Judge Popke ruled.

With Duggan out, at least temporarily, the face of the mayoral race has changed dramatically. Fellow frontrunner Benny Napoleon, who is the Wayne County sheriff, so far has no strong competition, but Duggan’s removal could change that quickly.

  Appeal, Ballot, Benny Napoleon, Circuit Court, detroit, Frontrunner, Mayoral Election, Mike Duggan, Overturned, Removed from ballot, Residency requirements, Running for election, steve, Tom Barrow

Steve Neavling

Steve Neavling lives and works in Detroit as an investigative journalist. His stories have uncovered corruption, led to arrests and reforms and prompted FBI investigations.

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