New Durham DA may be ineligible
The governor's office says it isn't so, but a new law appears to rule out David Saacks for the job

Anne Blythe and Eric Ferreri, Staff Writers
DURHAM - A law signed by Gov. Mike Easley last month appears to make David Saacks ineligible to serve as Durham County's district attorney.
But the governor's office says otherwise.

Saacks, a Wake County resident, was sworn in last week as the top prosecutor in a county where he is ineligible to vote.

At the time, a spokesman in the governor's office said Saacks' Wake County residency did not render him ineligible for appointment to the Durham office.

But a bill that Easley signed into law Aug. 19 says nobody can be appointed to fill a vacancy in any state or local elected office without being qualified to vote for that office.

"No person is eligible for appointment to fill a vacancy in any elective office, whether state or local, unless that person would have been qualified to vote as an elector for that office if an election were to be held on the date of appointment," the law states.

As a Wake County resident, Saacks cannot vote in Durham elections.

An Easley spokesman defended the appointment Tuesday, saying the governor has powers granted to him by the state constitution that trump the new legislation.

Read more in the Raleigh News-Observer