Garcetti aftermath: free speech and election races

In the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Garcetti v. Ceballos, caselaw continues to be confusing.  In Murphy v. Cockerell (6th Cir. 2007), two employees of the county property valuation administrator's office faced off in an election for the permanent position of property valuation administrator (the Republican had been appointed as the interim administrator, then moved the Democractic candidate to a back office).  The victorious Republican fired the Democratic contender for her political speech during the election campaign.  The Sixth Circuit held that there was no right to candidacy and concluded that the Democrat could be fired for running, but could not be fired for her political speech during the campaign.  The court concluded that there was no evidence that the Democratic candidate's speech had impeded her ability to perform her duties, and that the Democratic candidate was also not a confidential employee subject to discharge under Elrod-Branti analysis.