Chattanooga District 9 election case postponed

Friday, January 1, 1904

photo Peter Murphy and Yusuf Hakeem

Chancellor Frank Brown refused to grant a temporary delay of a runoff election slated for April 9.

Instead, a hearing will be held April 9 to decide if Councilman Peter Murphy has enough evidence to warrant a runoff, said City Attorney Mike McMahan.

The District 9 runoff has been in contention since the March 5 city election. Yusuf Hakeem won the election by six votes, and there were disputes about whether he had enough votes to get a 50 percent plus one majority as required by city law.

Murphy sued the Hamilton County Election Commission last week, saying it approved the election results with write-in votes counted, which would mean Hakeem did not have a clear majority.

The election commission disputes the accusations, saying computer software does not allow them to change votes.

Charlotte Mullis-Morgan, administrator of elections, said her office is prepared to hold a special election if needed.