When death takes away life but not the job!
The recent appointment of a dead man by Information CS Joe Mucheru to State body was met was met with consternation and anger, but this isn’t an isolated case. Here are some incidences beyond our borders that have shocked many...
City replaces underperforming mayor with deceased man
In early 2010, voters in the small town of Tracy City, Tennessee, handed Carl Geary an overwhelming victory in the city’s mayoral race—ousting incumbent Barbara Brock by winning more than 70 percent of the vote. Geary was unable to accept, of course, because he’d died of a heart attack a month before the election. To some voters, Geary’s victory seemed to be a tribute of sorts; to others, it was a lesser-of-two-evils decision after residents felt the incumbent had not fulfilled election promises. “I knew he was deceased,” said a voter. “I know that sounds stupid, but we wanted someone other than Brock.”
Residents gave tribute to departed politician in the ballot
Patsy Mink was a trailblazing politician who served the state of Hawaii for 12 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. According to the National Women’s Hall of Fame, in 1964 Mink became “the first woman of color elected to the national legislature and the first Asian-American congresswoman”. She died of pneumonia weeks before election day in 2002. A few weeks after receiving a state funeral, Mink was honored once again when the voters of Hawaii re-elected her to Congress—a seat that was re-assigned a few months later after a special election.
TV Star wins election weeks after death
During the last year’s midterm elections in USA, a man named Dennis Hof—a Nevada reality TV star, brothel owner, and author of the book titled The Art of the Pimp—ran for the Nevada state legislature and handily won a seat representing the 36th Assembly District. There’s just one problem: Hof was dead at the time of election. He passed away three weeks before the election! Following his landslide win, county officials were forced to appoint a replacement.
Dead woman elected Califonia senator
During the 2010 midterms, California state senator Jenny Oropeza easily won reelection—despite having passed away two weeks earlier from complications caused by a blood clot. Although the illness left her largely absent from the campaign trail, the incumbent still managed to claim victory by a 58 percent to 36 percent margin
Governor passes election test days after passing away
Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan famously won election in 2000—38 days after passing away in a plane crash that also claimed the lives of his son and a campaign advisor. Carnahan’s wife, Jean, filled his spot in the Senate until a 2002 special election.
