Opinion
No. 126408 (4)(5).
June 29, 2004.
SC: 126408, COA: 256268, Saginaw CC: 04-52535-CZ-5.
The order issued June 25, 2004 is amended to read as follows:
On order of the Court, the motion for immediate consideration is GRANTED. The application for leave to appeal prior to decision by the Court of Appeals is considered, and, pursuant to MCR 7.302(G)(1), in lieu of granting leave to appeal, we REVERSE the June 21, 2004 order of the Saginaw Circuit Court. The Saginaw County Board of Election Commissioners is ORDERED to include intervening defendant Michael J. Goschka's name on the ballot as a Republican candidate for the office of Saginaw County Register of Deeds in the August 3, 2004, primary election. The circuit court erred when it held that Const 1963, art 4, § 9 prohibits the intervening defendant from seeking election to the position of Register of Deeds. Young v. Detroit City Clerk, 389 Mich. 333, 347-348 (1973). The intervening defendant is not responsible for any costs that may be incurred by the Saginaw County Board of Election Commissioners in complying with this order. The motion for stay is DENIED as moot.
I concur with the decision of the majority to include intervening defendant Michael J. Goschka's name on the ballot as a Republican candidate for the office of Saginaw County Register of Deeds in the August 3, 2004, primary election. However, I do so not on the basis of Young v. Detroit City Clerk, 389 Mich. 333 (1973), because I believe that decision to have been plainly wrong. Const 1963, art 4, § 9 states in relevant part that, "No person elected to the legislature shall receive any civil appointment within this state from the governor, . . . from the legislature, or from any other state authority, during the term for which he is elected." Only by holding, as Young does, that "appointment" means "election" could it be concluded that art 4, § 9 has any conceivable effect on the instant controversy. Because, in my judgment, "appointment" does not mean "election," and because Young was plainly wrong in finding that it does, I find no constitutional barrier to defendant seeking election as Register of Deeds in Saginaw County.
Because the instant question will tend to be raised in emergency circumstances, and because this Court's present interpretation of the Constitution has considerable potential to deter interested persons from running for public office, I believe it is important that Young's misinterpretation of the Constitution be corrected rather than sustained.