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Duluth Candidates for Public Office

Running for Office

The Mayor and Council serve four year staggered terms. The purpose of this provision is to ensure that at no time is the Council composed of a full panel of freshmen members.  There are presently no term limits for these positions.  In order to qualify for the position of Mayor or Councilmember, you must meet the following requirements:

1. Must be a one (1) year City of Duluth resident as of the first Tuesday in November of the year for which you are qualifying.
2. Must be a registered voter.
3. Must state which seat/person for which you are qualifying.
4. Must pay qualifying fee of $180 (3% of Council pay) or, if running for the Mayoral seat, $288 (3% of Mayor's pay).

Elected officials take office at the first organizational meeting in the January following the election.  Once elected, the Mayor and all members of Council must continue to reside in the City of Duluth during their periods of service and remain registered voters.  Additionally, they may not hold any other city office or city employment during any portion of the term for which they are elected.

Compensation for elected officials is as follows:  Mayor receives $500 per month plus $150 per meeting for each regularly scheduled meeting, not to exceed two meetings per month.  City Council members receive $200 per month plus $150 per meeting for each regularly scheduled meeting, not to exceed two meetings per month. 

Qualifying

Qualifying dates are set by State Law.  For the 2007 election, qualifying will commence on Monday, August 27, 2007 at 8:30 a.m. and end no later than 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 29th.   Qualifying fees are $180 for Council & $288 for Mayor and must be paid during the qualifying period and filed with the written Notice of Candidacy.  Eligibility to run for public office will be verified by city staff at that time; all applicants will be subject to background checks and verification that all taxes (property, occupational, etc.) and/or fines have been satisfied in full.

Persons interested in running for office should make themselves familiar with the Georgia Ethics in Government Act, and contact the City Clerk, Teresa S. Lynn, at 770/476-3434 or via email at tlynn@duluthga.net at their earliest opportunity to receive valuable information concerning campaign filing guidelines.  

Campaigning

All candidates should be aware that the City of Duluth has a Sign Ordinance, specifically designated as Chapter 11.5 of the Duluth Code, and campaign signs also fall under these regulations.  Click here(Opens new window) to view PDF to review it, or visit www.municode.com and follow the links to Duluth, Georgia to access the entire code of ordinances online.  Other restrictions regarding campaign activities can be found in the Official Code of Georgia (O.C.G.A.) Title 21, also published as the Georgia Election Code and Rules of the State Election Board.

Code of Ethics for Government Service

The O.C.G.A. § 45-10-2 authorizes the Secretary of State to publish the Code of Ethics For Government Service established in section 45-10-1 (Ga. L. 1968, p. 1369.) for exhibiting to the public and employees of the state and all governments therein.

Any person in government service should:

I. Put loyalty to the highest moral principles and to country above loyalty to persons, party, or government department.

II. Uphold the Constitution, laws, and legal regulations of the United States and the State of Georgia and of all governments therein and never be a party to their evasion.

III. Give a full day's labor for a full day's pay and give to the performance of his duties his earnest effort and best thought.

IV. Seek to find and employ more efficient and economical ways of getting tasks accomplished.

V. Never discriminate unfairly by the dispensing of special favors or privileges to anyone, whether for remuneration or not, and never accept, for himself or his family, favors or benefits under circumstances which might be construed by reasonable persons as influencing the performance of his governmental duties.

VI. Make no private promises of any kind binding upon the duties of office, since a government employee has no private word which can be binding on public duty.

VII. Engage in no business with the government, either directly or indirectly, which is inconsistent with the conscientious performance of his governmental duties.

VIII. Never use any information coming to him confidentially in the performance of governmental duties as a means for making private profit.

IX. Expose corruption wherever discovered.

X. Uphold these principles, ever conscious that public office is a public trust. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

State Ethics Commission
205 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive, SE
Suite 478 - East Tower
Atlanta, GA 30334.