One of the candidates hoping to run for Halifax Regional Council has been told she is not eligible.

Angela Jones has been a lawyer for the Halifax Regional Municipality for 15 years. This week she put her name in to run for city council, but she says she didn’t request permission for a leave to run, as is required.

Jones says she was led astray and plans to take the matter to court.

“I feel like I was a lamb led to the slaughter,” says Jones. “I did everything that they asked me to do.”

Jones is currently on parental leave. She says, because of that, she didn’t feel she would have to apply for a leave of absence in order to run, which municipal workers are required to do under the Elections Act.

Jones says she spoke to the clerk’s office just to make sure and offered to file a letter if needed.

“They told me I was good to go,” says Jones. “They guaranteed me that my nomination papers were fine and I needed to do nothing further.”

The day after nominations were due, Jones says she got a call from the municipal clerk asking to send an email requesting a leave of absence as a formality for human resources.

The following day Jones was told her leave of absence would not be granted.

“I got an email from the CAO saying that he was denying my request for a leave of absence, that I had made the request after the nomination day and therefore he could not grant it,” says Jones.

The returning officer says she can’t confirm those discussions with Jones and won’t comment on the allegations.

“It’s ultimately the candidate who’s responsible to ensure that they meet the qualifications to be a candidate, and that those qualifications, because it is legislation, are not discretionary,” says returning officer Cathy Mellett.

Tim Bousquet covers municipal politics for Halifax’s weekly newspaper, The Coast. He says this adds an interesting element.

“This was shaping up to be a fun race and this adds a new wrinkle to it,” says Bousquet.

Jones says she still wants to represent the people of Cole Harbour and will fight for her right to do so. As a result, she has hired a lawyer and is planning to fight the decision.  

She is optimistic the issue will be resolved quickly and that she will get the chance to run in the upcoming election.

Residents will head to the polls Oct. 20.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Jacqueline Foster