What Happens on Nov. 8 Now that Livonia’s Sole Judge Candidate Resigned

LIVONIA – The November election is just five weeks away, and former Justice David Mahoney will be the only candidate on the ballot for Livonia Town Justice.

The only catch is that Judge Mahoney resigned effective Sept. 30. So now what? David DiPasquale, Democratic Commissioner for the Livingston County Board of Elections, explained.

“If Mahoney loses the election to a write-in candidate, the write-in will simply serve the term. If Mahoney wins, he can still take the oath of office in January and serve the four year term,” said DiPasquale. “If he doesn’t take the oath of office, the Town Board will choose a person to fill the vacancy. That person designated by the Town Board would serve as Justice until next November’s election, when it goes straight back to caucus for the parties to designate new candidates.”

The resignation came just too late for Mahoney to decline candidacy, and just too late for the vacancy to be filled. The deadline to decline was Sept. 23 and the deadline to fill the vacancy was Sept. 27.

Livonia Town Clerk Colleen West Hay said that Mahoney’s resignation letter was brief and did not indicate a reason for leaving the bench.

Mahoney beat Republican challenger Jack Brown at a hotly contested Livonia Republican Caucus in July. No one has publicly indicated that they intend to run a write-in campaign against Mahoney.

The resignation is expected to bog down operations in Livonia Town Court. All cases for the next five weeks will be handled by Livonia’s only remaining Town Justice, Judge Robert Lemmen.