SALISBURY — Salisbury City Council candidate Rasheed Mustafa ibn Hasan is currently the subject of charges of felony breaking and entering a motor vehicle. The charges stem from an arrest on March 20 for the same crime and another charge of misdemeanor larceny.

Hasan says he is running on a platform of addressing the issues that face the city, such as homelessness, poverty, drugs and crime. He also says that what pushed him to run for city council is his perception that the city does not do enough to provide opportunities for kids to keep themselves out of trouble.

“There’s nothing for these kids to do, and they wonder why the crime and drug rates are so high. When I was coming up, we had the Dunbar Center, we had the skating rink, we had all this and kids these days don’t have anything to do. They’ve got to have more than going to the Bell Tower,” said Hasan.

Although Hasan has been previously convicted of a separate felony, the law does not prevent him from currently running for city council based on his current record. As long as a prior felon has completed their service and had their full voting rights restored, they can run for office in North Carolina.

The prior felony stems from an incident in 2014 when Hasan was pulled over because a police officer believed he was driving a stolen moped. When Hasan was searched, the officer found a prescription bottle with 0.9 grams of crack cocaine, seven alprazolam pills and two bags with 3.5 grams of marijuana inside. Hasan was charged and convicted of felony possession of a controlled schedule II substance in the crack cocaine.

According to the N.C. Department of Adult Correction’s database, Hasan also has multiple convictions both before and after the felony conviction. In 2018, Hasan was convicted of misdemeanor child abuse after reportedly striking his 9-year-old daughter on the head with a broom because she did not want to exercise with the family. He has also been convicted of misdemeanor assault in 2009, misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon in 2010 and assault on a female in 2011.

Hasan has also been convicted multiple misdemeanor drug charges.

Hasan’s court date for the felony breaking and entering has been postponed a few times, and is now scheduled to be held on Oct. 11 this year. If Hasan is convicted of the felony, he is no longer eligible to run for office. If the case is postponed again or if he is found not guilty his name will remain on the ballot as a candidate for Salisbury City Council.

According to the North Carolina Constitution, a member or candidate for office must be able to vote in an election for that office. If a member of a city council is no longer eligible, state law states that the seat is legally considered vacant.

Hasan says he is not worried about how his prior record and the current charges against him may affect the public perception of his candidacy.

“I don’t worry about how people look at me. I’m running because this is what God put in my heart do, and so I don’t worry about anything else,” said Hasan.