Carl Lewis, nine-time Olympic champ, ruled ineligible for New Jersey state Senate run

BY ADAM CAPARELL
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Tuesday, April 26th 2011, 9:03 PM

Julio Cortez/AP

Carl Lewis announced his candidacy for a New Jersey state Senate seat April 11.

For Carl Lewis, the race is over before it even began.

The nine-time Olympic champion's political ambitions were dealt a major blow Tuesday when New Jersey's Secretary of State ruled he can't run for the state Senate.

The state's Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno said the track and field legend would not be allowed to appear on the June 7 Democratic primary ballot in Burlington County because he hasn't lived in the Garden State for the required four years for an individual seeking elected office. 

Lewis, a native of Willingboro, NJ, declared earlier this month he would pursue a seat in the New Jersey Senate. But records showing him to be a taxpayer in California, where he owns a home in the Pacific Palisades and is involved in business ventures, led Guadagno to conclude Lewis wasn't eligible to be a Jersey candidate.

"I find that respondent was not a resident of New Jersey for the constitutionally required four years prior to the date of the election for the office he now seeks," Guadagno wrote in her decision, the Associated Press reported.

Multiple outlets have noted that Lewis has owned homes in New Jersey for the past six years and has a driver's license issued by the state. He's also volunteered as track coach in his hometown for the past four years.

That didn't sway Guadagno who overturned a state judge's prior ruling that Lewis was allowed to run.

While the 49-year-old's plan to challenge incumbent Republican Dawn Marie Addiego appears be on its last legs, Lewis' lawyer said he expects his client to appeal the ruling.

"Today's decision is unfortunate but not unexpected," Bill Tambussi told the AP. "It is clear that this administration will do anything to keep Carl Lewis off the ballot. We are not going to let that happen. Carl Lewis is and has been a legal resident of New Jersey and it is unconstitutional to declare him otherwise."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics /2011/04/26/2011-04-26_carl_lewis_ninetime_olympic_champ_ruled_ineligible_for_new_jersey_state_senate_r.html#ixzz1Kh72cyIi