Chattahoochee Hills mayoral candidate accused of threatening contractor
Richard “Richie” Schmidt, a four-term Chattahoochee Hills city councilman who is running for mayor, is under investigation for comments he made about a city contractor in a recorded phone call, saying he will “tear her feet off” and telling the city manager to “get that dog under control.”
The city’s police department has turned over the recording between Schmidt and City Manager Robbie Rokovitz to the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, according to Rokovitz.
The department also turned over a recent bodycam video of Schmidt talking to a city police officer, Rokovitz said.
In the telephone recording, which was obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Schmidt made what Rokovitz called “egregious” comments against the contractor, Judy Walker, and two other people — a constituent of Schmidt’s who has criticized his leadership and the developer of Serenbe, a luxury enclave in Chattahoochee Hills.
A spokesperson for the Fulton DA’s office confirmed “the matter is under review,” but declined to comment further.
“If she stands up to me again, like the b---- she is, I will physically tear her feet off of her because I’m that type of guy,” Schmidt said to the city manager. “People wanna keep talking s--- about me, they have no idea what’s coming down the pipe for them.”
Schmidt told the AJC he had no intention of harming Walker and plans to make a second public apology for his behavior during Tuesday’s council meeting. The first came in a Facebook post.
“That was very wrong what I did,” Schmidt said Friday. “That was very out of character.”
Schmidt, who has been on the City Council for nearly 14 years, made the comments about Walker on Sept. 12. He was complaining to the city manager that Walker, a city contractor, had given him a deadline by which to respond to candidate questions for a city-funded newsletter that circulates to residents.
He also accused the newsletter of “twisting the truth.”
Walker compiles the newsletter Chatt Hills City News. She had asked Schmidt and other candidates to respond to the same seven questions for publication.
Schmidt said in the recording that Walker told him she “would hate to put in there that I refuse to answer the questions,” after he said he didn’t want to participate in the questionnaire.
“Well, I’ve got somebody at our little city paper threatening to post lies about me, so what do we do about that, since we pay for that?” Schmidt asked Rokovitz.
“Tell her if she ever acts as if she has some authority over me again, I will ruin her in a public setting with her little f---ed up paper,” Schmidt added. “She doesn’t have the right to speak to me.”
Later in the conversation, Schmidt said: “I can’t believe how many people in this town love to put ropes around their necks, but it looks like Judy’s going to be the next one. She’s been forewarned.”
During the conversation, Rokovitz attempted to tell Schmidt that Walker was only trying to get answers from every candidate on the ballot.
Walker, who has been putting out the City News for a little more than six years, said in an email exchange that the newsletter does not twist the truth. Anyone can submit announcements and other items as long as they don’t involve politics or other opinions.
“I don’t edit or rewrite what people submit,” she said. “We have an editor that checks for typos and some grammar along with looking for mistakes.
“It’s a labor of love giving voice to people that did not have a place to do that before. I will continue to do this if the city wants me to.”
Schmidt also apologized in a Facebook post, after the recording circulated in the community.
“I would like to send out a sincere apology to anyone and everyone that I may have hurt with my poor choice of words during a private conversation I had with Robbie Rokovitz,” he wrote Friday. “I am aware that this behavior was unacceptable and there are no excuses for my actions. I assure you that moving forward, my actions and my words will align with what is expected of me as an elected official.”
Rokovitz said he started recording his conversations with Schmidt after the councilman threatened in June to hurt fellow City Councilman Rodney Peek. During that in-person, unrecorded conversation, Rokovitz said Schmidt told him that Peek had better not approach him again or Schmidt “would put his fist through his teeth.”
Schmidt said Monday he does not recall making the comment but added that Peek had been bothering him at a council meeting.
“His breath was in my face,” Schmidt said.
On Monday, Peek said in an email that “the comments made by Councilman Richie Schmidt threatening violence and using intimidation against citizens of our town are completely unacceptable.”
“No one who speaks like this should serve on our City Council — and certainly not as our mayor,” he said. “Public office is a privilege, and it comes with a duty to treat every citizen with respect, even when we disagree.”
The two recordings the city has referred to the DA’s office were obtained by a Chattahoochee Hills resident through an open-records request. They have been circulated widely in the community.
Schmidt is running for mayor against fellow City Council member Camille Lowe, who did not respond to emails requesting interviews for this story.
Rokovitz, in an email exchange with the AJC, said he was “shocked and appalled at the profanity and threats” by Schmidt in their nearly 15-minute phone conversation Sept. 12. The city manager said he immediately shared the recording with the police chief and Walker, “should she want to press charges.”
In the recorded call, Schmidt said he told Walker on the day of the Sept. 9 City Council meeting he had no interest in answering her questions because “they twist my words, they rewrite my stories.”
Schmidt also made a comment during the call about Steve Nygren, the developer of Serenbe.
“I’ll be on my golf cart in Serenbe making Steve’s worst nightmare come true,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt told the AJC he only meant he would be riding around in a golf cart to ask residents of Serenbe to vote for him. Nygren could not be reached for comment.
Schmidt, in both his phone call with Rokovitz and his recorded conversation with a police officer, mentioned an outspoken constituent who has posted unflattering remarks about Schmidt’s leadership on social media.
Calling her a derogatory word, Schmidt said he’s going to “make her famous before long” and added, “she’s running around running that mouth.”
Schmidt told the AJC he was not making a physical threat, and was referring to people finding out about an unrelated lawsuit the woman had filed.
The resident asked that the AJC not publish her name because of concerns about her safety. She and Walker formally reported what they called “potential threats of violence” against them in an email Sept. 30 to city officials, including Rokovitz, Mayor Tom Reed and Police Chief Kevin Digou.
In the email, obtained by the AJC, they demand an impartial investigation of Schmidt’s conduct and that the city take steps to ensure their safety, including taking “protective measures” during City Council meetings.
Digou, in an email to the woman on the same day, said Schmidt’s comment that he was going to “make her famous” did not constitute a direct, imminent threat under state law. But the chief called the comment “inappropriate and concerning.”
Digou added that the police officer should have asked Schmidt during the conversation to clarify what he meant by the comment.
Schmidt said his frustrations, including derogatory comments about residents of Serenbe, reflect the different lifestyles in the hamlet of about 600 homes.
The community’s developer is planning to add 1,100 new residential units alongside a hotel, offices, restaurants and other amenities. The additional development will take place across about 1,500 acres.
In a phone interview Monday, Schmidt said people in Serenbe live under an HOA and “We just don’t live that way.”
Schmidt also said he is frustrated with a city restriction that prevents more than one house on 20 acres of land or less in areas zoned as “rural district.” This precludes people who own less than 20 acres from subdividing their property into lots for residential development.
“We feel as though our rights have been taken,” he said.
Early voting for Georgia’s municipal elections begins Oct. 14.
About the Author
Reed Williams is an enterprise reporter on the Local team at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
