Claudia Pettit drops out of Ypsilanti City Council race due to Hatch Act

Note: story has been updated to fix the spelling of Pettit.

Ypsilanti City Council candidate Claudia Pettit is dropping out of the race.

Her withdrawal leaves Daniel Vogt as the lone candidate for the seat in Ward 2 unless someone files to run as an independent before the November election.

Pettit, who is a state employee for Michigan Rehabilitation Services, said she was informed by her department’s attorneys last Thursday that she is not allowed to run in a partisan election due to the Hatch Act.

Although the Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from running for office and Pettit is a state employee, her department, which provides employment services for people with disabilities, receives federal dollars. The department's attorneys said that technicality precludes her from running for office.

“I’m extremely disappointed,” Pettit said. “I think I was running a pretty good race, had a strong campaign committee and had a lot of strong support. It’s disappointing that it had to come to an end so abruptly.”

Pettit said she was originally told she could run for city council and was caught by surprise when her department’s attorneys said she couldn’t take part in the election. She said she checked with a Democratic Party attorney who provided her with the same opinion.

Pettit said she will continue to work with CoPac and has been approached by city officials to help campaign for support for the Headlee Override on the August ballot. She also expressed interest in working on a city committee.

“Whatever I can do continue helping, I will do,” she said. “I know these are challenging times.”

“I wish my opponent well, and I hope he can serve the city effectively.”

Tom Perkins is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com. Reach the news desk at news@annarbor.com or 734-623-2530.