Lithonia Mayor Joyce McKibben Is Voted Out 166 to 47

A special election was held on Tuesday, at issue to recall Lithonia’s Mayor. In a vote nearly 3 to 1, residents sent the embattled Mayor packing. 166 votes ousted Joyce McKibben. The Mayor has been the subject of media reports for months, first after she tried unsuccessfully to fire the city’s police chief. Then there was a period of infighting with the city council. And then there were also those now infamous skirmishes with Lithonia police over computers and access to city hall among other things.

The latest part of this saga was the mayor tried to have a concert promoter prosecuted for making threats against her. That case was dismissed. Ironically that concert promoter was part of an effort to recall the mayor. Lithonia has been in the news for weeks now; I don’t expect this to be over. Mayor McKibben hinted in an interview with local news reporters that she wasn’t going quietly.

Only 20% of registered voters in Lithonia voted in the special election. Now the door opens for new candidates to run for the now vacant office. Mayor McKibben can run again if she chooses to do so. Whoever runs and wins this election, they may still face the same resistance. Although I don’t agree with how Joyce McKibben went about cleaning up city hall, I admit it did need some cleaning. The police chief I think was out of line a number of times, especially with the issues over gas cards and hiring. Also, no matter what powers the city charter gives the mayor, she is still the mayor and deserves respect from city employees.

I also take issue with how members of the city council have acted. Instead of trying to reach a compromise they have resorted to petty bickering. Changing the locks on the building, having employees arrested, and directing police to harass the mayor, and someone altered the city’s website removing the title of mayor from Joyce McKibben’s name, all of this was unnecessary. They should have taken the higher road. On the news tonight a member of the city council, Kathleen deCocq was just overjoyed and very excited about the 166 to 47 vote. She should have just made a simple statement and let it go. It just made this whole process look like a big school yard fight.

I think the Mayor has good intentions, and that she may be right on several things. But personalities, lack of tact and perhaps bad judgment help get us to this point. The real looser in this is the residents of Lithonia. Let’s not forget this is the city that had to ground its city vehicles because it couldn’t afford to pay the auto insurance. The city has had some major problems these past few years. Someone needed to go in and make a change in the way things were done. Perhaps that person isn’t Joyce McKibben, but I do think that someone needs to at least investigate some of her claims, if not only to give residents piece of mind.

North Georgia Politics Is Starting To Get Interesting

Last week could you tell that it’s getting down to wire for some of the political races as we approached the Run-off election? Among the offices up for election was the Clayton County Sheriff. The incumbent Victor Hill went up against former Clayton County Deputy Sheriff, Attorney Kem Kimbrough. In a recent debate with Sheriff Victor Hill, Kimbrough cited Hill’s numerous conflicts with other law enforcement agencies and local leaders. Basically Kimbrough raked Hill over the coals about his ego and personal agendas. I found the exchange to be pretty interesting considering recent events between the Sheriff and Clayton County Commission Chairman Eldrin Bell. I think by calling out the Sheriff’s antics, Kimbrough put the pressure on Victor Hill to come up with a better defense than he has previously. Apparently voters didn't care for Hill’s “skirmishes” with local officials. County residents booted Hill out and Kem Kimbrough to face the republican challenger.

And speaking of egos, Dekalb County CEO Vernon Jones battled for the democratic nomination for a U.S. Senate seat with Jim Martin. Over the years Jones has been at the center of controversies including illegal campaign contributions and an accusation of rape. Despite the controversies he’s managed to retain strong support from Dekalb citizens. In what may be a huge blow to the Jones for Senate campaign, civil rights icon Rev. Joseph Lowery Endorsed Jim Martin. Both candidates lobbied for the endorsement, however Jim Martin won out. In a press conference Rev. Lowery talked about Vernon Jones conservative views and support of President Bush. Jim Martin defeated Vernon Jones bid for the U.S. Senate seat by nearly 20%. They say change is good, and any change from the previous will be a much needed improvement.

Vernon Jones’ vacated office of Dekalb County CEO will go to Burrell Ellis. Ellis won yesterday’s run-off election by a landslide. At 50 years old, Ellis who served eight years as a County Commissioner will be the fourth Dekalb County CEO. Ellis beat his opponent state representative Stan Watson by a vote of 63% to 37%.

And finally, there will be a new Sheriff elected in November. The embattled Fulton County Sheriff Myron Freeman lost his re-election bid last night to Ted Jackson a former FBI agent. The Sheriff has been under fire his entire term regarding courthouse security, safety and staffing at the jail. A few weeks ago a federal judge threatened to hold him contempt of court because of the lack of improvement at the Fulton County Jail. All of that including the highly publicized trial of Brian Nichols has caused Fulton county voters to kick the sheriff to the curb and elect new leadership. Ted Jackson will face republican challenger Michael Rary.

And one quick note, the effort to recall Lithonia Mayor Joyce McKibben has until this Monday to collect 330 valid signatures. Last I heard they needed 35-40 more signatures on the petition. And if that wasn’t enough trouble for Mayor McKibben, it’s also being reported in the AJC, that The Mayor’s home is in foreclosure. I’ll keep an eye out for any more information regarding the recall.

City In Chaos

The City of Lithonia located in Dekalb County, Georgia has a population of more than 2,100 residents. Who would have thought that this small suburban Atlanta community would be in the mist of a soap opera like power struggle?

Lithonia’s most recent trouble started when recently elected Mayor Joyce McKibben fired Lithonia's police chief, Willie Rosser. That set off a chain of events that has kept the city in spotlight for nearly two weeks. The mayor claims that the chief violated city policies and fired him. Hours later the city council reinstated the chief saying that the mayor does not have the power to fire him. That night’s city council meeting turned into a heated confrontation between the mayor and her supporters and the city council and the chief’s supporters. Since then two of the mayor’s aides were arrested and the mayor herself charged with obstruction and theft. City employees were paid late because of the fighting between the mayor and city council. State officials were scheduled to help mediate the dispute between the parties involved but that meeting was canceled.

So what’s next? I’m sure most residents are embarrassed with the way their elected officials have behaved. It looks like people’s egos are getting in the way of handling the city’s business. With allegations of theft, police harassment, abuse of city credit cards and poor financial management, someone from the Attorney General’s office should step in and start an investigation.

I think everyone involved has to take some responsibility. The mayor should have consulted someone like the city attorney before firing the police chief. The city council should have listened to the mayor’s accusations and investigated. And finally the police chief should remove himself from the center of the controversy and not fuel the fire. The people of Lithonia should not be further subjected to the petty fighting among city leaders. Bottom line these people should act like professionals, conduct the city’s business and allow an outside party to investigate all the allegations and let the cards fall where they fall.