The latest in the hurdles Commissioner Dale has been facing in running for reelection, per the Commercial Appeal:
Calhoun County Circuit Judge Henry Lackey Monday reversed a Democratic Executive Committee decision that had removed Dale from the Aug. 7 party primary.
Lackey said he does not have the power to let Dale run as an independent — a request Dale made weeks after the Democratic Executive Committee, on a split vote, said the commissioner shouldn’t run under the party label because he publicly supported President Bush for re-election in 2004.
That’s probably the fairest decision that a judge could have made in the case. A better long-term solution, however, would be to either limit party power in state-funded primary elections, and/or to permit nonpartisan candidates to register later, given that less prep time is required since an independent doesn’t generally need to go through a primary process.