Credit: Steve Hall
Credit: Steve Hall
An Alpharetta City Council candidate said her integrity has been unfairly questioned by a resident who doesn’t believe she’s eligible to run for office.
Candidate Donna Murphy and her accuser will appear at a hearing with the City Clerk next week.
“It really caught me off-guard,” Murphy said. “I’ve never had my character or integrity questioned. It really did upset me.”
Murphy, 61, is running for City Council Post 1 against incumbent Donald Mitchell. Longtime Alpharetta resident Clifford Martin is challenging Murphy’s qualification to run for office, alleging she doesn’t live in the city, as required to run for office.
Martin described himself as a concerned citizen during a phone call with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Friday. He sent a letter to the City Clerk’s office Aug. 31 asking officials to investigate whether Murphy lives in Alpharetta or Forsyth County.
Murphy and Martin are scheduled to attend a hearing with City Clerk Erin Cobb at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 13 in City Council chambers. Cobb told the AJC that she will be the deciding official in the matter, which might not get resolved that day.
Murphy’s “Notice of Candidacy and Affidavit” form for the Post 1 seat was included in Martin’s letter to the city clerk and shows a Commerce Street address in Alpharetta as her primary residence of two years. He also submitted 2021 notices from the Forsyth County Board of Assessors that indicate a homestead property tax exemption for property Murphy and her husband own in Cumming. Homestead tax exemptions are granted on a person’s primary residence.
“My understanding is the burden of proof is on me,” Murphy said, adding that she will have documentation at the hearing that shows proof of her primary residence as Alpharetta. Murphy acknowledged ownership of the Forsyth home with her husband and said that according to the county guidelines only one of them (her husband) is required to qualify for the homestead exemption. The apartment she is leasing in Alpharetta is in her name only, she said.
Murphy, a married mother of three adult children, is a realtor and grew up in Alpharetta and graduated from Milton High School before attending the University of Georgia.
Friday, she said that she hasn’t ever met Martin in person but he did contact her in August on Facebook with several questions.
“I took the time to answer all of his questions in a polite way,” she said. “It’s unfortunate. I, like so many people, just want to serve Alpharetta and don’t want to get into political games or dirty politics.”
Martin, 66, a resident of more than 30 years, ran for City Council twice in recent years.
“I believe that the people who serve on City Council need to be people that believe in Alpharetta, pay taxes and want to put in community service,” he told the AJC. “If she can provide legitimate proof that her primary residence is here, I will apologize. If she can’t, she should pull out of the race.”
