A registered sex offender is running for mayor of Wilmer-- which is just outside of Dallas. Though he was never convicted, James Sliter was busted during an internet porn sting. That has some people asking the question, can someone with a sex offender history be a mayor?

"That shows the relativism of today that someone would actually think that that is a non issue when in fact it's a real violation," Wichita Falls Mayor Lanham Lyne says about the situation.

Four years ago Sliter (then 38 years old) was arrested for soliciting sex from a minor through the internet. When he showed up for sex at the house of who he thought belonged to a 15-year-old girl, he was met by police instead. A plea bargain placed him on 10 years probation. With no conviction, Sliter is legally able to file as a candidate.

"People need to realize that people make mistakes, and they need to look past those mistakes and forgive and move on. I'm not asking anybody to condone what I did," Sliter said.

"I have seen people change and I have seen sex offenders who no longer want to commit anymore offenses and I have seen them do the work and be successful at that. Unfortunately, I've seen the flip side of that," Local Therapist Tricia Kennedy said.

Kennedy works with sex offenders in treatment. She says through group sessions, they provide offenders with tools to keep them from molesting again. Whether they use those skills is their choice.

"Some days it's from day to day and some days it's minute from minute and a conscious effort not to molest again," she said.

But from the point of someone who's currently in the role of mayor, Lyne isn't convinced-- especially since his job includes time spent in schools and being around children of all ages.

"For somebody who's seeking out a child or teenager or whatever the case may be...that's an advantage for them and they will take advantage of that," Lyne said, "This guy has no reason to be running for mayor. I mean it's insane to think that people would over look that (as he said) as an issue."

Kennedy says residents in Wilmer should be concerned with the kind of access Sliter would have with children-- if elected mayor, but reminds everyone that no one sex offender is alike.