Hattiesburg resident challenges council candidateâs qualifications to run The municipal primary is set for April 6. (Source: WDAM) By Luke Smith | March 2, 2021 at 6:39 PM CST - Updated March 2 at 8:32 PM
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) - A Democratic candidateâs qualifications to run for Hattiesburg City Council in the April primary are being challenged by a resident of the ward he seeks to represent.
Joseph Lanford filed the petition in Forrest County Circuit Court on Friday challenging the Democratic Executive Committee of Hattiesburgâs decision that Bradly James Pope Parker is a qualified candidate for Ward 4 councilman.
Lanford, a Ward 4 resident, alleges Parker has not been a resident of Hattiesburg for two years immediately preceding the primary election date in accordance with a Mississippi law passed in 2019 that went into effect in 2020.