SUMMIT (AP) — A Mississippi man is seeking legal advice on holding two elected offices at the same time.
The state attorney general’s office has previously said it’s OK in some circumstances.
The Enterprise Journal reports that Daryl Porter Jr. is serving his second term as a town councilman in Summit.
Porter won a Mississippi House seat in November, and will be sworn in Jan. 7. The Democrat says he wants to remain on the town council while serving in the Legislature.
The attorney general’s office has said in the past that a person can serve in two offices at once if both offices are in the same branch of government. But, it’s not acceptable to serve simultaneously in one office that is legislative and one that’s executive.
For many years, Democrat David Jordan has served in both the Mississippi Senate and the Greenwood City Council. Because of the way Greenwood city government is structured, the council posts are in the legislative branch.
The man Porter is succeeding in the House, Democrat David Myers, stepped down from the McComb Board of Selectmen after a lengthy court fight over his status as a dual office holder. Because of the McComb city charter, the selectmen are part of the executive branch. Myers chose to serve in the state Legislature and relinquish the city office.
Porter is seeking a new opinion from the attorney general’s office, specifically addressing his status as a council member under the Summit town charter.
He was elected to House District 98, which includes parts of Pike and Walthall counties.