Elections board to meet on challenge against Hughes

Council member Tammy Mulkey seeks to invalidate Hughes mayoral run over residency requirements

A challenge against Aragon mayoral candidate Melisa Hughes will have to be determined by the Board of Elections, which has been called to meet this Friday.

The board is set to meet on Aug. 26 at 2 p.m. to determine whether the challenge can stand against Hughes in her run for the office of mayor against acting Mayor Curtis Burrus.

This meeting will be held at the County’s administration building at 144 West Ave., Cedartown, within the Board of Elections office.

Elections director Karen Garmon received the challenge dated July 28 from councilmember Tammy Mulkey on Aug. 12.

Mulkey cited residency requirements in the challenge, stating that Hughes did not start garbage service until Nov. 30, 2015, and power service on Nov. 9.

It also stated that a permit for renovations was never closed as of March 2015.

Mulkey’s challenge also alleges Hughes has an undisclosed medical condition which would prevent her from being able to do the job of mayor.

Hughes denied any medical issues, and explained why her garbage service wasn’t started until Nov. 30, 2015.

“We were still doing last minute work on the house, and anything I put out on the curb the city would not have picked up anyway, so I decided to wait,” she said.

She called the challenge ridiculous, but will have to provide proof of residency paperwork to the Board of Elections to have it dismissed as frivolous.

Hughes said she has been seeking to find out what happened to an elections challenge of her own.

According to challenges provided by the Polk County Board of Elections office, Hughes and Aragon Residents for Community Improvement member Garnett Crow filed handwritten notes on July 22.

Their challenges boiled down to the legality of whether Burrus can retain the position of mayor by appointment since he had to give up his seat on the council to run, and was only mayor by virtue of being pro tem and appointed so as a council member.

Their challenges, according to Elections Director Karen Garmon, were forwarded along to Aragon city attorney Vickey Atkins per the advice of County Attorney Brad McFall.

Atkins, when asked about Burrus’ status as Mayor, said that legal counsel from the Georgia Municipal Assocation gave no definitive answer on whether he was allowed to retain the position by virtue of his being pro tem, yet give up his council seat by which he held the pro tem powers.

“From a practical standpoint, if he doesn’t sit, we can’t have a motion and a second,” said Atkins.

With the death of Burrus last week on Aug. 18, if Hughes’ candidacy is invalidated it will leave Aragon without a mayoral candidate for the November election.