Political warfare in Stockbridge

Lee Stuart wore an Army uniform for three decades and it shows.

The new Stockbridge mayor still speaks in military lingo, jokingly referring to Henry County as his final PCS (permanent change of station). He compares Stockbridge's new city hall to the palaces of deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

"He built 27 palaces with the little people's money," Stuart said. "They were beautiful. Our city hall is beautiful, but I think it’s a waste of the people's money."

Stuart is waging a political battle in Stockbridge, a sprawling bedroom community of about 24,000 where former Braves pitcher Kyle Davies and members of the rock band Collective Soul grew up.

"It's over the elections," Stuart said. "You had a 30-year regime here unopposed and they're upset that I got in."

The new mayor sued his own city council after his vetoes were overridden. He ran off the longtime city clerk and caused a stir by ordering city workers and equipment to help clean up a rundown African-American cemetery. He's locked horns with the city attorney. And he's only been in office seven months.

The old guard has fired back, saying Stuart has embarked on a destructive ego trip.

"When you go into office and don’t know anything about running the city, you think you’d rely on the people who’d been there a long time," said former Mayor R.G. "Rudy" Kelley, who lost to Stuart last November. "But it seems like he wanted to get rid of them and not rely on their knowledge."

Stuart won the election by attacking what he called the insularity and unfriendly attitude of a city government Kelley led for 31 years. If voter turnout means anything, it showed not many people paid attention to Stockbridge politics.

Only 833 people -- 5.6 percent of the city's registered voters -- cast ballots in the mayoral race last November. Stuart got 477 votes (57 percent). In comparison, 10 percent of voters turned out for the mayoral race in neighboring McDonough.

Stuart was also the first person to challenge Kelley in 30 years. That impressed voters like Lillie Ricks, who moved to Stockbridge from New York City with her husband, Willie, in 2006.

"We felt it was time for a change," she said. "We didn't know a lot about Mr. Stuart but we thought we'd give him a chance."

For all the clamor, Stuart hasn't inflicted many wounds. In the lawsuit against city council, a judge just shot down Stuart's effort to have the longtime city attorney recused from representing the city. The city staff doesn't follow through on some of his suggestions, such as putting budget documents on the city website. He rarely wins a council vote because he only has only one ally on the five-member council, the newly elected Mark Alarcon.

Stuart is a half-blooded member of the Sappony Indian tribe. He grew up mostly in Arizona but spent summers as a child visiting his grandmother on the tribal settlement located on the Virginia-North Carolina border. Native American culture taught him these principles: respect for himself and others, respect for the land and respect for God.

"They're ingrained in me," he said. "That won't wash out."

His family later moved to Georgia and he graduated from Jonesboro High. He attended Georgia State University for a brief time, was drafted in 1967 and saw combat in Vietnam.

Stuart finished college and made a career in the Army, learning to fly attack helicopters and taking part in Operation Desert Storm. Later he organized events such as Operation Bright Star, an annual U.S.-Egypt military exercise. He was responsible for setting up and running temporary troop cities where thousands of soldiers lived.

"I know how to build cities," he said. "It’s the same management principles. I go to the same management schools."

But some of Stuart's management principles have freaked out city workers.

Employees were called to watch a Jan. 15 Power Point presentation that explained their new mayor's background. He wanted them to abide by "Lee's Golden Rules" (nothing ungodly, immoral, illegal or unsafe) and to pin little plastic "Helping Hands" above their heart to show their willingness to assist citizens.

According to documents the city released to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution after an open records request, one employee filed formal EEOC and ADA complaints after hearing the presentation. The employee claimed Stuart tried to force his Native American religious beliefs on her and discriminated against her with the little plastic hand and its "five finger contract" because she had only four fingers on one hand.

Stuart responded that he is a Christian and had not intended to discriminated against anyone.

The city's response notes that Stuart had sought information from the employee, a code enforcement officer, and she "resented and resisted having to report on her actions."

His venture into local politics came after Stuart retired from the Army in 2002 as a lieutenant colonel. He had returned to Iraq in 2003 as a civilian contractor in the five northern provinces and it was while overseas he was shocked to hear about a national controversy in Stockbridge, where he has owned a house since 1997.

The city tried to condemn a flower shop for a downtown revitalization project that included the city hall and lost after a long court fight. Mark Meeks, owner of the shop, is now one of Stuart's friends and advisors.

Defenders of the city, like city attorney A.J. "Buddy" Welch, say Stockbridge is well-run and takes care of its citizens. He points out residents don't have to pay city property taxes.

"It's been well managed and looked after," he said. "It's been done appropriately."

Stuart disagrees. When other military retirees urged Stuart to consider running for mayor, he poked around city hall. He said he found employees unfriendly and hard to deal with.

"I didn't know who the mayor or city council was until I ran," he said. "The HOA [home owners association] was my world."

Once in office, Stuart took action quickly. He removed signs designating parking spots next to city hall for the mayor, council and city clerk. He changed meeting procedure so citizens could sign up to speak the day of the meeting, instead of having to get on the agenda days in advance. He hired a company to videotape meetings. The council and public started saying the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of meetings. He demanded so many changes that Merle Manders, the city clerk for 35 years and namesake for the civic center, resigned.

Manders did not return a phone call seeking comment, but in a court affidavit connected to Stuart's lawsuit against city council, Manders said she quit because of "the many months of stress" he created.

Said Stuart, “I love the little old lady but she was slipping, making mistakes. She’d sit around chatting with the girls, having her own little empire. Some people have a hard time letting go.”

Now, Stuart is butting heads with Welch, a well-connected lawyer who's been city attorney for three decades.

Stuart vetoed $2 million in city spending in April, mostly on commitments from the previous council. When the council overrode his veto in May by a 3-1 vote, Stuart complained about Welch's advice on vetoes and hired his own lawyer, Greg Hecht. In June, Stuart filed a lawsuit, saying his interpretation of the charter showed that all five council members were needed for the override.

Stuart said Welch and other employees are looking for ways to force him out of office.

"He's on his own witch hunt," Stuart said of the city attorney.

Last spring the mayor ordered city employees to use a city dump truck and other equipment to help the community clean up a rundown African-American cemetery near Memorial Park. Workers laid gravel in a muddy road and a culvert and placed rocks in a drainage ditch.

Stuart said he saw the cleanup as a way to build community ties. Besides, the late City Manager Ted Strickland said he sent work crews to the cemetery a few times a year, Stuart said. (Kelley said he doubted Strickland ever said that.)

At the mayor's request, Welch determined that it was unclear if the graveyard was privately owned. He advised Stuart to "hold up on any actions," but Stuart ordered city employees to do more work. He talked to Boy Scouts about working on the cemetery as a service project.

Welch subsequently sent Stuart a letter asking 19 pointed questions, such as who gave permission to cut trees and lay gravel. Stuart refused to answer and word soon spread that the council would go after Stuart for using city equipment on private property. African-American citizens crowded council meetings to show support for the mayor.

"We have a mayor now whose willing to help us," said Alphonso Thomas, a losing council candidate and black community leader. "He's under attack for doing right."

Welch didn't want to say much about the controversy. When asked about Stuart's "witch hunt" comment, Welch said, "The matter is in litigation and the rule of law will govern."