The city of Stonecrest tried — and failed — to take out a restraining order against a councilwoman whose seat is in question after she missed two meetings last year.
DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Mark Anthony Scott denied the city’s request to temporarily bar Councilwoman Jazzmin Cobble from serving on the council, city spokesman Adrion Bell said. But the court has not yet made a final ruling on whether Cobble should be able to keep her seat in the long term.
Scott’s ruling came days after elected officials and city staff in Stonecrest debated whether Cobble’s absences on Sept. 23 and Oct. 14 mean she should be removed from the council.
In a statement Friday, Cobble said she is “pleased that Judge Scott agreed with us to deny the motion and keep the City Council intact. I look forward to continuing to serve the people of Stonecrest and hope we can all move past these petty political fights to the important business of the people.”
In August, the city took out a restraining order against former councilwoman Diane Adoma, who had to step down from the council when she qualified to run for mayor but still tried to participate in a council meeting.
Some officials, including Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary, said Cobble’s absences may have violated the city charter, which states that a seat becomes vacant if a council member fails “to attend one-third of the regular meetings of the council in a three-month period without being excused by the council.” Stonecrest holds council meetings about once every two weeks, meaning about six every three months.
But, due to several ambiguities in the city’s laws, Stonecrest asked the judge to rule on the status of Cobble’s position. That decision could take more than a week to be released, Bell said.
In the meantime, he said, the city sought to keep Cobble from serving as a member of the council until a final ruling is made. The city and Lary were both named as plaintiffs, according to court records.
“We have someone on there that potentially is not supposed to serve and vote,” Bell said, adding that officials want to “make sure that the city is safe … that we’re not subject to lawsuits.”
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