Stockbridge City Council votes to remove mayor from office

“The mayor and I are disappointed,” Kenner said. “I think that certain minds on the council were already made up, and I don’t think that it was based on the evidence at all.”

City officials disputed that narrative and said the decision to oust Williams was tough, but that elected officials must be held to a high standard.

City Attorney Quinton Washington said a special election will be held to replace Williams, though the mayor can appeal his removal to Henry County Superior Court. It was unclear Saturday night whether he will do so.

Credit: Frankie Cole

Credit: Frankie Cole

Earlier Saturday, after hearing evidence from both sides during the hearing, council members deliberated in a closed-door executive session. The hearing functioned similarly to a trial and drew more than 60 spectators.

The city’s charter says three votes are needed for removal. Council members Kyle D. Berry Sr., Elton Alexander and Antwan Cloud voted to impeach Williams. Yolanda Barber abstained and declined to comment afterward.

Council member LaKeisha Gantt also did not vote, because the hearing officer removed her from the panel after deciding Aug. 31 she had shown bias against Williams and “animus” toward him.

Alexander said he, Cloud and Berry have no desire to run for mayor in the special election.

Attorney Robbie Ashe, who acted as one of the prosecutors, told the council in his closing argument that Williams betrayed the public trust by treating city-owned vehicles and city-issued purchasing cards and fuel cards as if they were his own for personal use, and by lying about his misdeeds and obstructing the investigation into his conduct.

Ashe added that Williams also broke his constituents’ trust by pursuing sexual favors from a young man who was “attracted to the star power of the office of mayor.”

Ashe was referring to an 18-year-old high school student who got to know the mayor through his interest in Williams’ mentoring program, according to a Stockbridge Police Department report. The report adds that, according to the student, he and the mayor exchanged nude photos.

Williams on Saturday testified the student sent him a nude image, but the mayor did not admit to sending any himself. Ashe questioned Williams at length about specific messages he exchanged with the student that were flirty and sexually suggestive.

Ashe told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that some of the photos the two men exchanged were sent as Instagram messages that disappeared after they were viewed.

The mayor testified that his mentee program was his own, and that it was not sponsored by the city as the police report said.

Credit: Frankie Cole

Credit: Frankie Cole

When Ashe asked Williams if he has had sex with mentees, the mayor testified he has not done so but added that the student mentioned in the police report had kissed him.

As for the spending allegations, prosecutors said Williams used his P-card to buy clothes, food and a haircut. Williams’ attorney said his client reimbursed the city for some of his purchases.

On Father’s Day, Williams spent $322 with his P-card at Pandora on the Square, a restaurant in McDonough. The mayor reported on a lost-receipt form that he spent the money on Father’s Day gift cards for staff.

City Manager Shawn Edmondson said he asked Williams for which city staff he had bought gift cards after learning about the lost receipt form. Williams answered that his handwritten explanation on the lost-receipt form was a “typo” and that he actually had bought gift cards for staff of another organization, Edmondson said.

But when the receipt later surfaced, it showed the $322 was spent on two sodas and three Father’s Day brunches, not on gift cards.

Williams’ treatment of staff was another issue.

Amanda Bradley, the other prosecutor in the hearing, said Williams told Interim City Clerk Cassandra Lester that he would make sure she never became the city’s permanent clerk. Lester filed a complaint with human resources and asked that she never have to be in Williams’ presence again without someone else there, Bradley said.

Credit: Frankie Cole

Credit: Frankie Cole

In his closing argument, Kenner told council members the city jumped to conclusions and let “personal spite” get in the way of doing the right thing. He said the young mayor made some mistakes in what he bought with his P-card but that the expenditures were for relatively small amounts.

“You will be setting a dangerous precedent by removing an elected official that the citizens of this city have duly elected by allowing people to come up with all kind of accusations, innuendoes that are unfounded,” Kenner said.

“Just because you may not like how he moves, you may not like the way he speaks, you make not like his lifestyle, but is that enough to take a draconian action to remove the city mayor?” he added, telling council members they might be the next ones to be ousted.

Saturday marked the second time in recent memory that the Stockbridge City Council voted to remove the city’s mayor, though none of its current members was on the council the previous time.

The council voted to oust Lee Stuart in December 2012 after an investigation into allegations he misused city funds and created a hostile work environment.