Juan Chastang
Juan Chastang | |
---|---|
Mobile County Commissioner, District 1 | |
In office 2005–2007 | |
Preceded by | Sam Jones |
Succeeded by | Merceria Ludgood |
Mobile County Commissioner, District 1 | |
In office 2008 | |
Preceded by | Merceria Ludgood |
Succeeded by | Merceria Ludgood |
Personal details | |
Born | 1961 or 1962 (age 61–62)[1] |
Political party | Republican |
Juan H. Chastang[2] (born 1961 or 1962)[1][3] is an American politician in Mobile County, Alabama. He is notable for being the subject in the case of Riley vs. Kennedy, a case concerning Alabama election and appointment law which was taken on and ruled upon by the United States Supreme Court.
Appointment to office
In 2005, longtime County Commissioner
County Commissioner
The appointment of Chastang was greeted with criticism by the Mobile County Democratic Party and by the black political leadership of the city. Three black legislators who represented District 1 in the Alabama House of Representatives, Yvonne Kennedy, James Buskey and William Clark, proceeded to file suit alleging that the appointment of Chastang was a violation of a 1987 statute that allowed for special elections to fill vacancies in Mobile County offices. The crux of their case was that the governor did not have the right to appoint Chastang and as such his appointment was invalid.[citation needed]
In 2007, Chastang came under criticism for using $50,000 of his personal discretionary fund (public money) to pay for a concert that was to be headlined by Ciara. The concert controversy came while Riley v. Kennedy was being adjudicated in district court. On May 1, 2007, a federal district court ruled in favor of Kennedy, Buskey and Clark and vacated the appointment of Chastang.A special election proceeded in which Democrat Merceria Ludgood, a political ally of Mayor Jones, defeated Chastang by a lopsided margin[clarification needed] to fill the vacancy.[citation needed]
In May 2008, the decision of the federal court by the U.S. Supreme Court,[vague] which summarily ruled in favor of Riley. An order was later issued to return Chastang to the commission. The ruling came after the eligibility period for the 2008 election, meaning that, if Chastang got on the ballot, he couldn't be re-elected. Chastang returned to the commission where he served several months, before resigning in September 2008. In the November 2008 elections, Ludgood was returned to the commission seat.[6][7]
References
- ^ Mobile Register. November 16, 2005.]
Juan Chastang, 43, a fellow Republican and a Blount High School basketball coach and teacher
[permanent dead link - ^ "Former County Commissioners". Mobile County, Alabama. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
- ^ "Juan Chastang Wins Republican Primary". Press-Register. August 29, 2007.
Chastang, 45, left office May 1
[permanent dead link] - ^ Riley v. Kennedy (US) Jurisdictional Statement (Park)
- ^ "Chastang could be owed back pay - al.com". Archived from the original on 2011-03-10. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
- ^ Burch, Jamie (September 18, 2008). "Juan Chastang Resigns From Mobile Co. Commission". WKRG.com. Archived from the original on 2008-09-25.
- ^ "MADA Calls for Chastang Resignation" (DOC). Mobile Bay Times. April 6, 2007.