STONECREST, Ga. (AP) - A 19-year-old candidate for a council seat in a newly formed city in Georgia has lost the runoff election.
News outlets report that Mary-Pat Hector, a sophomore at Spelman College, narrowly lost Tuesday to George Turner Jr., a retired MARTA manager. Turner received 867 votes to Hector’s 845.
Hector had finished second to Turner is a five-way race March 21, prompting the Tuesday runoff.
Turner had previously challenged Hector’s eligibility as Georgia law requires candidates to be at least 21 years old unless a city charter specifically makes an exception, but the county ruled in her favor.
Stonecrest is a city of 50,000 people in southeast DeKalb County. It was created in a referendum last November. Three council seats were decided Tuesday, creating the city’s first full government.
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