What Are Some Common Requirements to Become a City Council Member?
To become a city council member, the candidate must be an adult resident of that particular city, be eligible to vote and be a U.S. citizen. However, the exact requirements to become a city council member vary from one city to another depending on the local electoral regulations.
For example, to become a city council member in Garden City, Georgia, as of 2015, the candidate should reside in Garden City during the stipulated period of service, meet the minimum qualifications of a member of the Georgia House of Representatives and have been a citizen of Georgia for a minimum of two years.
The Georgian constitution requirements also state that for a person to be eligible to vie for a position in the city council, the person must not have been accused of misappropriation of public funds or convicted of a felony that involves moral turpitude. The same requirements apply in many other cities across the U.S.
The main responsibility of a councilman is to vote on matters important to the city and its people. The councilman also helps manage the cityﾒs government, manage funding, establish policies that govern the city and make laws. However, the candidate must gather the majority votes from the public even if the candidate meets the minimum electoral requirements.
