DETROIT — Mike Duggan has been removed from the ballot as a candidate for Detroit Mayor, in accordance to a ruling by the Third District Court this week. Mayoral Candidate Tom Barrow had filed a claim in late May that Duggan was never qualified for the position to begin with.

According to the Detroit City Charter, which was ratified and renewed in 2011, a candidate must be a “resident and a qualified and registered voter of the City of Detroit for one year at the time of filing for office.” Duggan appears to have missed that mark by just two weeks, according to reports.

Duggan had registered to vote in the City of Detroit on April 16, 2012, shortly after moving from Livonia and into the upscale neighborhood of Palmer Woods in the City. Duggan appears to have made a technical blunder by filing his papers to run for Mayor of Detroit on April 2, just two weeks shy of his one year residency in the City.

Duggan.

Barrow, an accountant who is attempting his fourth run for Detroit’s mayoral office, brought this issue to the attention of City Clerk Janice Winfrey, but the matter was ignored by both the City Clerk’s office, and the Detroit Election Commission, who argued that the deadline to file for Mayor of Detroit was on May 14, which would make it over a year since Duggan had registered to vote.

Afterwards, Barrow immediately took the issue up with the Third Circuit Court, who sided with his argument, based on the language in the Detroit Charter, which states that the one year policy applies to when a candidate files for office, regardless of when the deadline for filing may be. 

But on Wednesday, Duggan’s campaign fought back by filing an appeal at the circuit court. An emergency panel of judges who hear election complaints are most likely to  issue a ruling within a week, due to tight deadlines for printing and distributing absentee ballots.

“We’re confident that we will get this reversed,” Duggan said at his campaign headquarters Wednesday morning, where he was cheered on by supporters. “This is the nature of the business. If you’re not willing to fight through adversity, you have no business running for mayor of Detroit.” 

Considered to have been Duggan’s biggest challenge in the race, Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon also commented on the matter, stating that he sided with the decision made by the court, because the charter was approved by Detroit voters in 2010, and officials needed to respect the rules and policies of the charter. He also stated that the rule “prevents people from moving into the City with no knowledge of the issues facing Detroiters.” 

But if Duggan does remain out of the race, Barrow could gain some much needed momentum.

Early polls had indicated that Duggan had been sharing the lead for months with Napoleon, far outpacing the 15 contenders to replace current Mayor Dave Bing, who is not seeking re-election. The primary will take place on August 6, after which  the top two vote-getters will then advance to the General Election on November 5.