Crunch time is around the corner for those pondering a run for either of the two Peachtree City council posts that are up for election in November.
The qualifying period starting at 8:30 p.m. Monday, August 29 at City Hall, running during regular business hours through 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 2.
Up for election this year are the Post 1 seat currently held by Eric Imker and the Post 2 seat currently held by Doug Sturbaum.
Qualifying is not actually the first step a candidate must take, however. Due to state regulations, candidates must first file a “declaration of intent to accept campaign contributions” form with the city.
Part of the reasoning for filing that form first is because the qualifying fee paid by each candidate is considered a personal contribution, even if the candidate does not accept contributions from others, according to City Clerk Betsy Tyler.
The qualifying fee is $180 for each post.
The city also reminds candidates they will need to keep careful records of campaign contributions and expenditures, as regular reports will need to be filed with the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission (formerly known as the State Ethics Commission). Information on that process is available at http://ethics.georgia.gov.
The city’s general election is slated for Nov. 8, but the polls will be open early in advance for voters who don’t want to wait until then. The election will again be operated by the Fayette County Board of Elections on behalf of the city.
If no candidate in either one of the posts gains more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff election will be held Tuesday, Dec. 6
The final day for voters to register to vote in this election is Oct. 11, 2011.
