Judge dismisses College Park mayor’s free speech lawsuit against city
The city of College Park did not violate the mayor’s First Amendment right to free speech by adopting an ordinance that limits her ability to participate in City Council deliberations, a federal judge ruled.
In dismissing Mayor Bianca Motley Broom’s lawsuit against the city, U.S. District Court Judge Tiffany R. Johnson also threw out her claim that council members had passed the ordinance in retaliation against her leadership or her opposing views.
In a news release this week, the city said it spent more than $100,000 in legal fees defending against Motley Broom’s lawsuit and will petition the court to recover funds that “could have otherwise been directed toward community programs and services.”
However, the city has missed the deadline to recoup the attorney fees, according to Motley Broom’s attorney, Chris Balch. Under federal rules of civil procedure, the city must have filed a motion within 14 days after judgment in the case, Balch said.
The judge dismissed the lawsuit Sept. 30.
Motley Broom, in a post on her website, said she was disappointed with the ruling but respects the judicial process.
“I remain concerned about the practical implications of this ordinance for effective governance and robust representation of our residents’ interests,” the mayor said.
The dismissal of her lawsuit comes amid an ongoing political feud between council members and the mayor, who regularly calls on them to be more transparent and fiscally responsible.
College Park resident Elizabeth Lester, a supporter of the mayor who was involved in an effort to recall Mayor Pro Tem Jamelle McKenzie, said it is disingenuous of the city to say it will try to recoup the legal expenses from Motley Broom. She added city officials are trying to “villainize” the mayor.
Lester said the city paid more in legal fees — about $137,000 — to fight a recall effort aimed at McKenzie. In that case, a group of residents alleged McKenzie had harassed or intimidated constituents who disagreed with her, including by blocking them on social media and threatening legal action.
Lester, an attorney who has lived in College Park since 2013, said the city also has incurred substantial fees conducting investigations of “baseless complaints” by other council members.
McKenzie, reached by phone on Tuesday, said Lester is “comparing apples to oranges” because in her case, the city was defending its own elected official. Referring to Motley Broom, McKenzie said, “She sued her own city, and that is the difference.”
She added that the recall effort “wasn’t worthy.”
“You can’t recall somebody because they blocked you on Facebook,” McKenzie said, adding that she did not harass staffers.
Jeremy Berry, the attorney who represented McKenzie, said the city concluded it could pay McKenzie’s legal fees because the recall effort was “connected to her duties as a council member.”
Amid last year’s clash between the mayor and council members over the ordinance, McKenzie said she and other council members hoped to defuse the situation during a retreat with Motley Broom in March 2024 but that Motley Broom filed the lawsuit “on the way to the retreat.”
As for the ordinance, the City Council adopted a rule in January 2024 prohibiting the mayor from commenting or expressing opinions during City Council deliberations. The ordinance contains other provisions that control who can talk and when.
It says, for instance, that the mayor can make closing remarks at the conclusion of each meeting, as can council members. In her ruling, Johnson noted that the mayor also can speak during public comment.
The judge dismissed the mayor’s First Amendment claim because the council was enacting rules of procedure to ensure efficient operation of meetings. “It is not unreasonable for a city council to enact rules that govern and promote efficient meetings,” she wrote.
In dismissing the retaliation claim, the judge wrote that Motley Broom alleged that only two of the four council members — Joe Carn and Roderick Gay — had retaliated against her.
“Because Gay and Carn, alone, do not have final decision-making authority under the charter,” Johnson wrote, “the Mayor cannot trace her injury to the City itself.”
About the Author
Reed Williams is an enterprise reporter on the Local team at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
