Roswell will hold a hearing on Monday concerning the challenge to the residency qualifications of mayoral candidate Sandra Sidhom.
The hearing was originally scheduled for Friday, but has now been moved to Monday at 2 p.m. in room 220 at Roswell City Hall.
Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard ruled on Wednesday that Sidhom be disqualified from running for office in Roswell. State law requires candidates to be residents in the city they are seeking office for one year prior to an election.
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But Sidhom’s disqualification from the election won’t be official until the city holds a public hearing and accepts the city’s findings. Sidhom requested the hearing and will be given an opportunity to speak at it.
A city spokesperson told the AJC that if Sidhom is disqualified she will remain on ballots through election day, but signs will be posted at polls telling voters that she is no longer a candidate.
Sidhom was the fourth to qualify as a mayoral candidate in Roswell. She, Lori Henry, Donald J. Horton, Lee Jenkins and Michael Litten are vying for the seat after a judge ruled in August that longtime mayor Jere Wood had violated his term limits and wouldn't be allowed to seek re-election. A lawsuit filed by Litten led to that ruling.
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If Sidhom is allowed to stay in the race and then wins, she would be the first minority to be Roswell’s mayor. Sidhom is the daughter of Egyptian immigrants, according to her Facebook page.
Early voting in Roswell and all of Fulton County is underway, and Election Day is set for Nov. 7.
Sidhom took to her Facebook page Thursday and wrote: "Don't believe the rumors, I'm looking forward to presenting the insurmountable amount of evidence we have to support my qualifications for mayor to the public and end this witch hunt once and for all."
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