An Atlanta attorney whose billing practices and those of his law firm were the subject of two federal investigations narrowly won reappointment to the Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Board on Monday.
Members of an Atlanta City Council committee voted 9-6 to approve Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ reappointment of William K. Whitner.
Based on a series of stories published over the past two years in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, several council members raised questions about the propriety of Whitner’s appointment.
A partner of the Paul Hastings LLP law firm, Whitner has been on the recreation board since 2011 and currently serves as its chairman.
“I think there is unfortunately a cloud over some of the activities that cover Mr. Whitner, not just his law firm, but his own representation of the city with respect to the airport,” said Councilwoman Jennifer N. Ide, a lawyer. “It was subject to a subpoena by the FAA, and then there was some follow up to that on how cooperative the firm was.”
Bottoms’ office on Monday said the mayor had no concerns surrounding the debate about Whitner.
“Mr. Whitner has served the City well as a member and Chair of the AFCRA Board,” a spokesman at City Hall said. “During his tenure, Mr. Whitner oversaw several significant projects—including the sale of Turner Field to Georgia State University and the renegotiation of the Atlanta Hawks lease and subsequent $300 million renovation of State Farm Arena.”
Whitner declined to comment for this story.
The billing practices involved vague flat-rate bills to the city as high as $100,000 per month and two secret consulting payments to former City Attorney Cathy Hampton for work while she was still on the city’s payroll under former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed.
As the AJC previously reported, the bills, some of which were used to respond to U.S. Department of Justice subpoenas in an ongoing city hall corruption investigation, were paid with airport funds.
Money generated by Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport can only be used to further the airport’s operations.
City Attorney Nina Hickson said the FAA’s review remains ongoing, but that the firm had provided documents to the agency.
Whitner was one of eight of Bottoms’ appointments to various boards and committees on Monday. All others were unanimously approved.
Councilman Antonio Brown, who is fighting a federal indictment on multiple counts of fraud unrelated to his elected position, said he also had questions about Whitner’s reappointment.
“I find it hard to vote against this appointment, not because I don’t have concerns about what’s been depicted in the media,” Brown said. “As many of you know, I’ve been indicted and who am I to condemn another man who hasn’t even been indicted.”
Last week, City Council President Felicia Moore wrote to Whitner requesting that he explain the payments to former city attorney Hampton outlined in an AJC article from May 2019, according to emails obtained by the AJC.
“I believe the Council needs to have this information prior to voting on your reappointment to AFCRA,” Moore wrote. “This is also of interest to the citizens of this city as the Council and this Administration work to restore public trust in local government.”
“Our practice is to cooperate fully in any governmental investigation, and that is what I have done as it relates to the matter you reference,” Whitner responded. “It would not be appropriate to share the details relating to that cooperation.”
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