Two more members of the Stockbridge City Council called on Elton Alexander, the city’s mayor pro tem, to resign because of his involvement in a lawsuit that cost the Henry County community $1.7 million.
At a Friday press conference that ended in a shouting match between supporters and opponents of Alexander, Councilmembers LaKeisha Gantt and John Blount said their embattled colleague needs to go.
Alexander has been censured twice, they said, had a letter of caution placed in his file and faced six different ethics investigations since joining the governing body in January 2016.
The councilmembers said they’ve seen enough after last week’s settlement of the lawsuit, in which Alexander was accused of harassing the owner of a local barbeque restaurant because the proprietor would not comp the councilman’s $60 meal.
“This cannot continue,” Blount said Friday, calling on the city to launch a full investigation of Alexander. “And I ask the city of Stockbridge, I ask all elected officials to look deeply at what the citizens want and what this city needs.”
Alexander, who did not attend the press conference, has denied the charges and said he did not support the city’s decision to settle. He also said he does not plan to resign.
“I take personal responsibility for the distraction and apologize for the negative attention it has caused,” Alexander said during a virtual town hall he led Thursday, which was attended by Gantt and Stockbridge Mayor Anthony Ford, who has also called on Alexander to step down.
Distraction
The fight over Alexander’s future comes as Stockbridge is trying to make itself a visitor and shopping destination. The city has an outdoor amphitheater and arts venue slated to open soon, and has plans for a mixed-use development of shops, restaurants, trails with high-end homes and apartments.
It also takes place three years after a cityhood movement by residents of the gated Eagle’s Landing subdivision, whose residents have included rapper T.I. and one-time presidential candidate Herman Cain. The community successfully brought the plan before voters in a 2018 referendum. It failed.
Gantt and Blount accused Alexander of personal attacks against members of the council as well as citizens. He was censured in 2018 and again in 2019 over accusations of rude behavior, mischaracterizations of his colleagues’ statements and attacking citizens on social media. They say his antics gave ammunition to those who sought cityhood for Eagle’s Landing.
Gantt pointed to his 2019 deposition in the harassment lawsuit, in which the mayor pro tem was questioned about accusing the barbecue restaurant owner of being a sex offender, whether he was told the accusation was untrue and that he should stop repeating it.
Gantt also said Alexander agreed in the deposition that he has used fake names online to criticize his opponents, especially on a Facebook page he oversees, “Because We Care Henry County-Atlanta South.”
“He created these accounts to stir up, as a devil’s advocate, things that are going on here in Henry County,” she said.
Shouting match at press conference
Alexander supporters, who attended the meeting, called Gantt and Blount disingenuous. They said the two have made it clear they don’t like him and that they are dividing the city.
As they spoke for Alexander, a shouting match ensued between the two sides.
“We did not need this,” said a man who called himself “Mr. Charles,” but others identified as Charles Marshall, a resident of the Henry County portion of Eagle’s Landing. “This divides the city and gives a negative blemish on the city.”
“He doesn’t even live in the city of Stockbridge,” Blount cut in.
Others said they were with Blount and Gantt. Stockbridge resident Tamara Isbell said she is part of a group that is planning a petition to recall Alexander.
“We are putting a petition together because this is business. That’s our downtown and it’s empty,” she said pointing to a row of buildings across the street from Stockbridge City Hall, where the press conference was held.
“As a businesswoman, to deal with (Alexander), I don’t want to,” she said. “I’ll take my business somewhere else.”
Story so far:
The city of Stockbridge last week entered into a $1.7 million legal settlement over accusations that Mayor Pro Tem Elton Alexander harassed a restaurant owner who wouldn’t give him a free meal. Since the settlement, Mayor Anthony Ford and Councilmembers LaKeisha Gantt and John Blount have called on Alexander to resign.
