A Philly judicial candidate cannot run in the May primary due to residency, judge rules

A Philadelphia judicial candidate in the May primary has been disqualified, again, amid a legal back-and-forth regarding his residency. But Mike Huff, the candidate hoping to win a spot on the Court of Common Pleas or Municipal Court, has vowed to appeal the decision.

“We believe the Commonwealth Court’s findings of facts are unsupported by credible evidence on the record and will be appealing this decision back to the PA Supreme Court,” Huff said in a statement.

Huff, a native Philadelphian, lived in Bala Cynwyd with his family for 20 years and maintains full-time employment with the Montgomery County Public Defender’s Office. Still, Huff said he had always wanted to move back to the city when his children grew up, having maintained a law office on Race Street; canvassed for local candidates; and represented Philadelphia protesters, encampment occupants and organizers, and fair-housing advocates.

He says he finally moved to Mount Airy in May of last year, deciding on a judicial run after the fact.

Some in the Philadelphia Democratic Party, however, questioned the legitimacy of the residency change because Huff’s wife, a Democratic committeeperson in Montgomery County, has continued living in Bala Cynwyd with no plans to join Huff in the city.

In her decision Wednesday, Commonwealth Court Judge Lori A. Dumas went over a slew of factors she considered in the question of whether Mike Huff lives in Philadelphia, including “remarkably low” electric bills, where the rest of his family lives, and the home to which he appears “more permanently attached.”

The decision is another blow for the progressive-backed Huff.

In her initial ruling in early April, Dumas focused on a line in the election code that says a married person’s residence is where their family lives. In her decision to kick Huff off the ballot, Dumas wrote Huff “had to prove that his family intended to make Philadelphia their principal home indefinitely,” which he hadn’t.

» READ MORE: A Philly judicial candidate was knocked off the ballot because his wife lives in Lower Merion

Huff successfully appealed the decision to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which sent the case back to Dumas for reconsideration last week. The court found the residency issue had not been determined “based on the totality of circumstances” and said other factors need to be considered, including where a candidate sleeps, whether he leases or rents, and what belongings he keeps at the address.

In Wednesday’s decision, Dumas said Huff’s “utility bills 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. She said gas bills were “similarly negligible,” ranging from $2.86 last May to $28.69 in January.

Throughout a residency hearing in late March, Huff emphasized his constant presence at the Mount Airy triplex he lived in and rented out. His upstairs and downstairs neighbors spoke of frequent exchanges, hearing his music, and seeing him perform building maintenance. Yet Dumas said his presence could simply demonstrate the “activities any attentive landlord might perform and does not demonstrate any genuine residency.” She also noted that she viewed tenant testimonies with a degree of skepticism, given “the power dynamics inherent in a landlord-tenant relationship.”

Dumas further noted that Huff’s testimony claiming he would continue living in Philadelphia even if he lost his elections “rang hollow,” emphasizing the “deep-rooted memories and community connections” Huff has in Bala Cynwyd.

“Underscoring that deep connection are the facts that his wife lives there, his oldest daughter lives there, his remaining adult children likely return there when home from college, and even his campaign committee uses the Bala Cynwyd address,” wrote Dumas.

The Philadelphia Democratic Party, led by Chairman Bob Brady, backed the residency challenge and has previously said it was an effort to protect Democratic candidates.

“He’s a nice man, he’s a qualified attorney, but he’s qualified to run in Montgomery County,” said Brady after Huff was first kicked off the ballot.

Neither the party nor Brady was immediately available for comment Wednesday.

The pending appeal does complicate how mail ballots will be sent to voters. City Commissioners had to “lock” the final list of candidates on ballots and voting machines last week, despite the ongoing legal battles surrounding Huff’s candidacy. Commissioners have a statutory deadline of Tuesday to mail the ballots, which have Huff’s name on them. The lingering question is whether the candidacy issue will be resolved by then and whether commissioners will have to send a note telling voters Huff is not a candidate.