Several candidates qualified for the upcoming Ellijay and East Ellijay mayor and city council races in the first two days of the three-day qualifying period.
Incumbent Mayor Al Hoyle and Mayor-Pro Tem/ city councilmember Sandy Ott have qualified for Ellijay’s mayoral race.
Qualifying for the Ellijay City Council race, in which all five seats are up for election, were Thomas Griffith and incumbent councilmembers Tom Crawford, Al Fuller and Kevin Pritchett.
In the race for East Ellijay Mayor, incumbent Mayor Don Callihan was the only candidate to qualify by noon on Tuesday.
Qualifying for the East Ellijay City Council race, in which all four seats will be on the ballot, were Veronica Kincaid and incumbent councilmembers James Waters, Ed Forrester and Linda Smith.
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.
The Aug. 21-23 qualifying period ended Wednesday afternoon, well after the Times-Courier already went to press.
We will include those who qualified late Tuesday and Wednesday in next week’s edition.