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.

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.