Philly judicial candidate can’t run in primary, Pa. Supreme Court rules
Wednesday’s decision put to bed a residency challenge that ran so close to election day, mail ballots went out this week with Mike Huff’s name printed on them.
Mike Huff, a progressive-backed Philadelphia judicial candidate, is not eligible to run in the May 20 primary, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled.
Wednesday’s one-page decision put to bed a residency challenge that ran so close to election day, mail ballots went out this week with Huff’s name printed on them and a note alerting voters the state’s highest court was “still reviewing the eligibility of a candidate appearing on the ballot” for Municipal Court and the Court of Common Pleas.
The drama that shook the usually sleepy judicial races stemmed from concerns that Huff, who said he moved to Philadelphia last May from Bala Cynwyd, isn’t actually living in the city. Skeptics contended Huff’s move was a ploy to run for a judicial seat, noting Huff’s wife, a Democratic committeeperson in Montgomery County, has continued living in Bala Cynwyd with no plans to join Huff in the city.
On social media, the Huff campaign painted the challenge as an attempt by the Democratic City Committee and party Chairman Bob Brady “to push progressives out of the party.” Brady previously dismissed the digs, saying he was only trying to protect the Democratic candidates living in the city.
“With the matter now settled, our focus continues on ensuring that Philadelphia voters are presented with a ballot of qualified candidates who know our neighborhoods, share our values, and will work every day to move this city forward and provide equality and justice under the laws,” Brady said in a statement Wednesday.
Huff’s campaign thanked supporters with a video posted on Instagram where he doubled down on his commitment to the city.
“I’ll continue to serve the clients that have counted on me to represent them in my 31-year legal practice,” Huff said. “I’ll be out all across the city, showing up at neighborhood events, local music shows, and staying rooted in the fight for justice — wherever I’m needed most."
In an April court hearing addressing the residency question, Huff never denied the living arrangements with his wife, but he framed them as the result of a longtime desire to move back to the city, which is where Huff lived with his wife at the start of their marriage.
Huff said despite having raised his family in Bala Cynwyd for 20 years and keeping full-time employment with the Montgomery County Public Defender’s Office, he maintained a social and civic life in Philadelphia, where he was born. He kept a law office on Race Street; canvassed for local candidates; and represented Philadelphia protesters, encampment occupants and organizers, and fair-housing advocates.
To make his case in court, Huff brought W-2s, utility bills from his Mount Airy apartment, and neighbors who testified to his presence in the triplex he occupied and rented.
When first hearing the case, Commonwealth Court Judge Lori A. Dumas focused on a line in the election code that says a married person’s residence is where their family lives, knocking Huff off the ballot. Huff successfully appealed and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said his residency had not been determined “based on the totality of circumstances,” sending the case back to Dumas for reconsideration.
This time, Dumas took a slew of factors into consideration, but the conclusion was the same.
Huff’s utility bills, Dumas wrote, “constitute the most telling evidence undermining his purported domicile,” with electric bills ranging from $10.35 in May 2024 to a high of $50.90 that July. Gas bills were “similarly negligible,” she wrote, ranging from $2.86 last May to $28.69 in January.
Dumas was similarly not sold on neighbor testimonies, which she viewed with a degree of skepticism given “the power dynamics inherent in a landlord-tenant relationship.” Dumas said Huff’s presence could simply demonstrate the “activities any attentive landlord might perform and does not demonstrate any genuine residency.”
Ultimately, Dumas said Huff’s claims that he would stay in Philadelphia even if he lost his judicial races “rang hollow,” emphasizing his “deep-rooted memories and community connections” in Bala Cynwyd.
Huff appealed that decision last week, further delaying mail ballots that commissioners had been ready to send more than two weeks ago. Those ballots finally went out this week as Philadelphia City Commissioners faced a statutory deadline Tuesday.