HOPEWELL, Va. (WRIC) — A temporary block to a Hopewell City ordinance will allow Battalion Chief Ronnie Ellis to assume his council-elected seat come January officially. "This is not just a win for me, it's a win for the city, and it's a win for the people that voted for me in Ward 4," Battalion Chief Ellis said. The circuit court judge's move Wednesday morning granted a temporary injunction to 'City of Hopewell Ordinance 0424' which prevents a city employee to assume a political office position; the ordinance reading in part: 4) (a) Any employee, appointee or committee member may be a candidate for political office but shall resign, or shall be released, from employment with the City upon successful election to political office within the City, or other political office due to the responsibilities of that office will interfere with the employee's ability to perform the duties of his/her City position. City of Hopewell Ordinance 0424 Temporary injunction filed: Temporary-InjunctionDownload An opinion letter from Attorney General Jason Miyares was added to the injunction filed which referenced Dillon's Rule, a local government principle which establishes that local governments may exercise "only those powers expressly granted by the General Assembly." Opinion-Letter-AG-Jason-MiyaresDownload The letter further explains that other localities have brought similar provisions as the ones mentioned by the city, however, as it pertains to the General Assembly enacting these provisions, Miyares states, "the Hopewell City Charter is silent on such issues." Miyares added because of this absence, the City of Hopewell lacked the authority to adopt the ordinance. The judge agreed with Miyares' opinion, calling the letter 'reasonable and helpful.' The judge also added he did not hear anything that would give the City of Hopewell to 'collapse' should Ellis officially assume his seat while remaining in his role as battalion chief. Hopewell City Interim Attorney Beverly Burton argued Miyares' letter of opinion was not properly authenticated and that Ellis would have to show he would suffer irreparable harm. "If he had to quit to take this seat, he was going to lose thousands and thousands of dollars a year from retirement," said Timothy Anderson, counsel for Ellis. Burton declined to comment on the matter when asked by 8News reporters. 8News reached out to all members of Hopewell City Council for a response on the matter and was met with a statement from City Mayor Johnny Partin: This is a great day for Hopewell! The will of the people will be upheld, and the city will benefit tremendously from Ronnie serving on council. I am very excited for Hopewell's future and look forward to working with Councilor-Elect Ellis! Johnny Partin, Hopewell City Mayor Burton said in court she would be filing a demur, or legal objection to the temporary injunction. Anderson told 8News a final hearing to determine whether the temporary injunction will become permanent is expected in the spring. A permanent injunction would allow for Ellis to remain in both positions indefinitely. This is a developing story. Stay with 8News for updates.