IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF EMANUEL COUNTY STATE OF GEORGIA
JOHN E. PARKER, BOBBIE COLLINS, and, RITA FAULKNER, Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF SWAINSBORO; and MAYOR OF THE CITY OF SWAINSBORO, CHARLES SCHWABE, in his OFFICIAL AND INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, Defendants. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )
CASE NO.: ______________ PETITION FOR DECLARATORY JUDGEMENT, EMERGENCY HEARING, VIOLATION OF OPEN MEETINGS ACT AND ATTORNEY’S FEES
COME now Plaintiffs John E. Parker, Bobbie Collins and Rita Faulkner who are Councilmembers on the City Council for the City of Swainsboro, Emanuel County, Georgia who have filed this VERIFIED PETITION FOR DECLARATORY JUDGEMENT, EMERGENCY HEARING, VIOLATION OF THE OPEN MEETINGS ACT AND ATTORNEY’S FEES against the City of Swainsboro and the Mayor of the City of Swainsboro, Charles Schwabe, in his Official and Individual Capacity to protect and promote the welfare of the citizens of Swainsboro, Georgia and shows the Court the following.
PARTIES
1.
Plaintiff John E. Parker was elected to the Swainsboro City Council in November 2005 to represent District 5 of the City of Swainsboro. He is a resident of the City of Swainsboro, Emanuel County and the State of Georgia.
CLERK OF SUPERIOR COURTEMANUEL COUNTY, GEORGIA
21CV00253
ROBERT S. REEVESOCT 01, 2021 08:28 PM
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2.
Plaintiff Bobbie Collins was elected to the Swainsboro City Council in November 2005 to represent District 4 of the City of Swainsboro. She is a resident of the City of Swainsboro, Emanuel County and the State of Georgia. 3.
Plaintiff Rita Faulkner was elected to the Swainsboro City Council in November 1998 to represent District 6 of the City of Swainsboro. She is a resident of the City of Swainsboro, Emanuel County and the State of Georgia. 4.
The Defendant City of Swainsboro is a municipal corporation of the State of Georgia. At all times, the City of Swainsboro employed City Administrator Al Lawson and City Attorney Sidney Shepherd. The City of Swainsboro can be served through the Mayor and City Administrator Al Lawson at 101 West Main Street, Swainsboro, Georgia 30401 and by serving the City Attorney Sidney Shepherd at 109 East Morning Street, Swainsboro, Georgia 30401. 5.
The Defendant Charles Schwabe is the Mayor of the City of Swainsboro. He was elected in November 2005. He can be served at his office 101 West Main Street, Swainsboro, Georgia 30401. This action is brought against him in Official and Individual capacity.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
6.
JURISDICTION and VENUE in this case are proper as it involves a Petition for Declaratory Judgement pursuant to O.C.G.A. §9-4-1 and application of O.C.G.A. §50-14-1 and O.C.G.A.§50-14-5(b).
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STATEMENT OF FACTS
7.
On August 2, 2021, during a regular meeting of the Mayor and City Council of Swainsboro, five members of the Swainsboro City Council, by a unanimous 5-0 decision, voted to remove District 1 Councilmember Ricky Stevens from his seat on the City Council. This action was taken because Stevens failed to attend two consecutive regular meetings of the Mayor and City Council in violation of the City Charter. 8.
On September 1, 2021, former Councilmember Stevens submitted a letter resigning from his seat, although the resignation was unnecessary by reason of his prior removal by the Council. 9.
On August 24, 2021, the Mayor and the City Council Swainsboro held a special call meeting for the purpose of conducting business for the City of Swainsboro. The meeting was held by teleconference using Zoom. 10.
The Call Meeting was attended by the Mayor Charles Schwabe, The City Administrator Al Lawson, the Plaintiffs John Parker, Bobbie Collins, and Rita Faulkner. The meeting was also attended by the two other remaining Councilmembers. 11.
After the meeting had been in session for 38 minutes, the zoom audio and video were abruptly ended. Whether the ending of the meeting was intentionally caused by Defendants the City of Swainsboro and the Mayor Charles Schwabe or whether the Zoom presentation timed out is difficult to determine. Nevertheless, when the zoom meeting resumed, the employee of the City of Swainsboro, City Administrator Al Lawson is overheard saying, “Tell them a bolt of lightning struck and that is why it went off.” 12.
During the 38-minute meeting it is clear that the employee of the Defendant the City of Swainsboro, City Administrator Al Lawson was very agitated because Plaintiffs raised