Snellville Mayor Tom Witts recently suspended himself from office to focus on indictments handed down by a grand jury on Sept. 7. All but one of the 66 financially-based charges is considered a felony.
The indictments, the result of a four-year investigation led by Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter, include use of campaign money to take a cruise, buy a plane ticket and pay for a subscription to a pornographic website. Witt’s has also been charged with using his business to profit from the city and as well as accused of personal and corporate tax evasion.
Georgia law stipulates that Gov. Nathan Deal has 14 days from the indictment to convene a panel to determine whether the mayor should be suspended from official duties. The indicted public official may voluntarily suspend himself from office as Witts has chosen to do prior to the end of that two-week period.
While a public official is suspended, and until initial conviction by a trial court, the mayor can legally continue to receive compensation from his office, in this case $6,000 a year. (Snellville council members earn $4,000 annually.)
In the Snellville mayor’s absence, Mayor Pro Tem Barbara Bender will lead the city council.
Has Witts made a good decision for the city to suspend himself while working to clear felony charges against him? Should he resign completely and allow someone else to be elected mayor in his absence? Should elected officials be allowed to continue to draw a salary while suspended from office?
Send comments to communitynews@ajc.com. Responses may be edited for length and/or clarity and may be published in print and/or other platforms.
LAST WEEK: SHOULD CITY OF MARIETTA SAVE HISTORIC OAKTON ESTATE?
Some Marietta residents are appealing to Marietta Mayor Steve Tumlin and the City Council to buy and preserve the 1838 Oakton estate on Kennesaw Avenue. Unless the city or a nonprofit or someone else buys Oakton, co-owner Michelle Goodman said she and her husband may have to accept an offer from a developer. If so, the developer’s plan is to tear down the house to build houses or townhomes in its place. There is no historic preservation budget for the city. Nevertheless, we asked readers what they think should be done.
Here’s what some readers had to say:
I live around the corner and am devastated that we have not found a solution yet. — Susan Pruitt Taylor
What about keeping this beautiful house and have fundraising concerts there to help veterans, widows and all the people in need? — Sarah Pak
It is imperative that the city of Marietta step in and save Oakton. Our architectural heritage is as important as our cultural and family histories. What survives the great civilizations? The Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Aztecs, the Mayans? What we have left is primarily their architecture. We must save this historic site! — Mary Camacho Smith
Really? I am not certain why there is a question as to the reason to save this property. A nearly 200-year-old property should be cherished, valued and certainly saved, especially in Marietta, where history is a pillar of the community and the home is beautiful. Witness the Marietta Confederate Cemetery and the Marietta National Cemetery, the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park — all preserved remnants of Marietta's past. How can the mayor and City Council let this gem of history be razed by developers? Shame on them! — Amelia Grant
Oakton House and Gardens should not only be preserved but should be celebrated as an example of what makes Marietta great. There has been and always will exist an area where compromise can generate an acceptable outcome. Cobb County has certainly taken great pride in becoming home to the Atlanta Braves; and between Lockheed Martin and the citizenry of Cobb County as a whole, there is room (or land in this case) for this home to represent the story of Marietta.
Stewardship is not the choice of those who see civics as a means to an end; it is the path of frustration and hardship. Yet it creates the torch of leadership that will call others into action and give direction to those seeking a path forward. Preservation is not simply walls that are old and ideas that are forgotten. It means that we choose something that is not of our time and defend it for those who will come after us.
But if the destruction of this home and the creation of a potential 13 homes seem rationale thoughts, I would press the development of Kennesaw National Park and hope that the creation of a myriad of new entertainment facilities will naturally replace the need for undeveloped land. Why have land (or homes, structures, etc.) that serve the public need when something new can be done? Certainly, it could be explained to those generations who come after us that here once stood an achievement of our regional architectural vision. Now here is a mixed-use dilapidated structure with 300 empty parking spaces.
Georgia has an amazing history. Marietta has the opportunity to lead by example; and in these complex political times, I feel that leadership led from temperance for the people - and not for a person - would be a welcome position to see local government return. — David Yoakley Mitchell
Carolyn Cunningham for the AJC
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