A Halifax lawyer who wants to be a city councillor has gone to court in an effort to get her name on the ballot.

Angela Jones has been a lawyer for the city for 15 years and she wants to run for a seat on council. However, she has been told she can’t run because she didn’t get permission, as required by law.

Jones’ campaign signs are posted on lawns in her riding of Cole Harbour, despite her name being left off the ballot.

She’s hoping a Supreme Court judge can change that.

“I have to fight for my right and my right here was taken away incorrectly by the municipality,” says Jones. “I think I can be a strong voice out here for this district.”

Jones has been told she’s ineligible to run in the upcoming municipal election because she didn’t request a leave from work, as required under the Elections Act.

However, Jones is currently on parental leave, and says she asked whether she needed to make another request.

“It was discussed that they were satisfied that I was on a leave of absence and there was nothing more I needed to do.”

Her lawyer is arguing that two officers who deemed her ineligible to run didn’t have the power to make the decisions they did.

“Alternatively, if they did have jurisdiction, that those decisions were wrong because Miss Jones being on maternity leave was not required to take a leave of absence under Section 17C of the Act,” says Jones’ lawyer, Matthew Moir.

Dan Campbell is representing the city in the case. He says a municipal employee is not qualified to run or serve unless on a leave under a particular section of the Act, which isn’t the same as a parental leave.

“The concern is that if any ineligible candidate is permitted to run, that the whole election can be challenged afterward, so that’s very much what they want to avoid,” says Campbell.

Timing is also an issue for Jones. Advanced electronic voting begins Saturday. However, as it stands now, there are only two names on the ballot in her district.

Angela Jones’ name isn’t one of them; something she worries will confuse voters in her riding.

“It’s unfortunate that that had to happen. Really, it is,” says voter Shelly Brown.

“We need different people here with different opinions, so I’d like to see her get in and give the other candidates a good run for their money and see what happens,” says voter Bob Peters.

Jones will find out Wednesday morning if she will get the chance to run.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Jacqueline Foster