Fairburn may have violated its code by replacing ousted council member
After ousting one of its own elected members, the Fairburn City Council appointed someone to fill the vacancy who had just lost a campaign for a different seat on the council — effectively replacing an elected official with someone voters had just rejected in the November election.
The council’s unanimous vote to replace Samantha Hudson with Samuel Perry Nov. 17 appears to have violated the city’s charter, an argument Hudson makes in a lawsuit against the city. Hudson was removed from the council through impeachment.
In December, the council voted to hold a special election in May to fill the seat, which, like all others in the city, is at-large and voted on by all city voters. Perry now has the benefit of being able to run as an incumbent.
Atlanta-based election attorney Bryan Tyson said the appointment is inconsistent with the city charter and the position should have remained vacant until the election could be held.
“It appears the city did not comply with its charter by appointing someone to fill her seat,” said Tyson, who is not involved in the case. “But the effect of that essentially is that the person appointed validly holds the office until a judge says that he doesn’t.”
Rusi Patel, general counsel for the Georgia Municipal Association, said it is “very, very rare” to see a sitting elected official removed from office, unless the official was convicted of a crime or acted in a way that was similarly egregious.
“The court system is very reluctant to remove an elected official from office without significant justification, because the people voted for them,” Patel said in an interview.
Adding additional confusion, Hudson’s legal challenges to her removal and to Perry’s appointment were not filed correctly, according to Tyson. Hudson’s attorney, Mario Williams, said, “I disagree with that.”
The city’s new mayor, Hattie Portis-Jones, referred questions about Perry’s appointment to City Attorney Rory Starkey, who declined to comment on active litigation.
Perry, in a brief phone interview Saturday, said it would be inappropriate for him to discuss his appointment.
“The appointment process, that’s taken care of by Fairburn,” he said.
The council removed Hudson Oct. 30, after an ethics complaint was brought against her, alleging she harassed the city clerk and created a toxic environment that interfered with the city’s functioning. Hudson denies wrongdoing and says she had been fighting to obtain documents that the city was withholding, hindering her ability to represent her constituents.
As of last week, the city still had not responded to requests Hudson made for documents in May, according to one of her legal complaints. The documents include contracts for concert performers; a list of city contractors and consultants and information about projects they were working on; invoices from attorneys; and contracts with the city administrator, police chief and city attorneys.
In an interview, Hudson said former Mayor Mario Avery was upset with her because she was a staunch critic of his leadership.
“They made up their own rules,” Hudson said. “They hate me so bad that they wanted me gone.”
Avery, who filed the ethics complaint that led to Hudson’s removal last year, declined to comment.
Avery’s ethics complaint claimed Hudson posted a confidential document online. That document was an Aug. 6 letter from Avery to Hudson saying then-City Clerk Brenda James filed a complaint against Hudson to the human resources director.
According to Avery’s letter, James’ complaint alleged “constant harassment through email communications directed to the mayor and council.” It also accused her of false and defamatory statements, age-based discrimination and retaliation based on James’ association with Avery.
The letter warned Hudson to “cease and desist” from any communication with James.
At a Sept. 30 ethics hearing, Avery’s attorney Charles Brant argued Hudson waged a sustained campaign of antagonism against James beginning in late 2024, after Hudson got upset about James’ placement of an item on a meeting agenda.
Brant said Hudson demanded documents from James that are confidential under the law, ultimately leading Hudson to threaten legal action and complain of defamation, retaliation and creation of a hostile work environment.
The ethics board unanimously found Hudson had committed a violation and voted 5-1 recommending the City Council remove her through an impeachment hearing.
The council held the hearing and voted unanimously to impeach Hudson on Oct. 30.
Four days later, Hudson’s attorney filed a legal petition challenging her removal from office. It argues the city has admitted in its own documents that Hudson, as an elected official, was not governed by the city’s personnel policy that was used to initiate the investigation.
Hudson’s legal challenge also says Avery did not inform her she could not discuss James’ complaint except in executive session. And when Hudson posted the letter online, the matter had not been referred to executive session and therefore was not confidential, Hudson’s attorney argues.
Tyson, the election attorney, noted the city’s charter allowed Hudson 30 days to file an appeal to her removal in Fulton County Superior Court. However, he said her attorney incorrectly filed the appeal in DeKalb County Superior Court.
“She didn’t comply with the requirements necessary to obtain the appellate review” because she filed in the wrong court and has now missed the deadline for an appeal, Tyson said.
Hudson also has filed a separate petition in Fulton Superior Court asking a judge to declare Perry’s appointment unlawful.
In an amended complaint filed Jan. 5, Hudson argues that the city’s charter requires an election to fill a council vacancy if the term for that seat does not expire for 12 months or more. The council can only appoint someone to the vacancy if less than 12 months remain in the term, Hudson argues.
Hudson’s term was supposed to last until the end of 2027.
About the Author
Reed Williams is an enterprise reporter on the Local team at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
