The qualifying period draws near for two local city elections.
Both Ellijay and East Ellijay will hold elections for mayor and city council later this year. Qualifying for both elections starts Monday, Aug. 21, and runs through Wednesday, Aug. 23.
All city council seats will be on the ballots for both cities. There are four council seats in East Ellijay and five in Ellijay.
As for the Ellijay mayor’s race, incumbent Mayor Al Hoyle said he fully intends to qualify for the election, while city councilmember and mayor pro-tem Sandy Ott recently announced her plans to run for mayor.
Although she will still have to qualify, Ott has filed a declaration of intent to run for mayor. Because of this, she will not be able to seek another term on the city council in the upcoming election. Her four-year term will be up at the end of this year.
No other candidates or incumbents have officially announced, prior to qualifying, that they will be running in either election, according to both Ellijay’s and East Ellijay’s City Halls.
Qualifying time for the Ellijay election is 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at Ellijay City Hall, 197 North Main Street. Fees are $105 for city council candidates and $712.62 for mayoral candidates.
Qualifying time for the East Ellijay election is 9 a.m-4 p.m. at East Ellijay City Hall, 107 Oak Street. Fees are $100 for city council candidates and $981.24 for mayoral candidates.
Election Day for both cities will be Tuesday, Nov. 7. Early voting will start Oct. 16 and last until Friday, Nov. 3.
In Ellijay, early voting will be done at Ellijay City Hall, while the Election Day polling place will be the Gilmer County Civic Center. East Ellijay’s early and Election Day voting will all be done at East Ellijay City Hall.