Residents may voice their concerns for the continued pattern of legally-defined unethical behavior exhibited by an appointed city officer by emailing Mayor Skip Henderson directly at SkipHenderson@columbusga.org, while cc’ing their respective city council members on the email.

COLUMBUS, Ga. — City Manager Isaiah Hugley recently stated in plain language that he intends to use his position as city manager to influence a local  judge’s decision.

In his remarks made during the city council meeting held on April 11, 2023, Hugley described how he plans to achieve his own predetermined outcome on a case within the city’s legal system to suit his own political goal.

What Hugley openly described is far — let’s say that again for emphasis — far outside of acceptable behavior for any city official, let alone something as far-removed from the judicial branch of government as the office of the city manager. 

This is not the first time Hugley has demonstrated a continuous pattern of brazen misconduct that falls well outside of his role as the city’s head administrative employee. His continued unethical behavior and prima facie exhibits of political corruption have become so frequent that many — many — Columbusites of all demographics and political backgrounds have taken note.

HUGLEY’S REMARKS

During the city council meeting on April 11, 2023, Hugley described how he intended to wrongfully use his position of influence to  ensure that a sitting judge would handle a particular case how he wanted them to — and not just in the judge’s ruling, but in their chosen sentencing as well.

The matter pertained to a particular case of illegal dumping that Hugley and his family member were personally involved with.

Here’s what Hugley had to say in his own words, as recorded in the council meeting’s video published on CCG TV’s YouTube channel:

“I wanted to take just a quick moment to highlight that a week and a half/two weeks ago, my sister witnessed dumping and she was bold enough to pull up where they were dumping on Matilda Lane at Isaac drive — because we know that's a regular area and she asked him: ‘please don't dump in my neighborhood.’ And one of the guys in the truck, he stepped aside because she started videoing and taking photos — and the other guy just blew her off and said: ‘don't pay her any attention.’ Well, she kept taking pictures. She texted those pictures, those photos, to me. I texted those photos to our team — Ryan Pruett and the team — and I directed them to go and get them because she did take a photo of the tag number. And our team went out and got them, and they are going to court on the 19th (of April). My sister is going as a witness, and I'm going to be standing there with her as City Manager of Columbus, Georgia to urge the judge to apply the maximum penalty.”

Hugley then spoke through self-aggrandizing political statements that portrayed himself as somehow being a hero for his brazenness in misappropriation of his position of influence as city manager to influence the ruling and sentencing of a sitting judge.

Hugley then concluded his statement by encouraging members of the public to do the same, inciting the public to partake in his overarching political corruption against the sanctity of our city’s legal system:

“I just wanted to commend them on their work and thank them and urge others to do what I'm going to do on the 19th when I go to court.”

THE BOTTOM LINE

The nature of the case’s subject matter is utterly irrelevant. The nature of the desired end-state is irrelevant.

The sanctity of a legal system must remain impartial to the intentions behind its own corruption.

There is no excuse — none; zero; zilch; nada — for an administrative public employee such as the city manager to use their position of administrative authority within the executive branch to wrongfully have any influence whatsoever on the sanctity of our city’s legal system within the judicial branch.

The very existence of Hugley’s openly-stated and well-exhibited pattern of political corruption should not be permitted to continue to gain footholds in our city’s separate branches of government.

State law enforcement might well be looking forward to witnessing Hugley’s actions to complete his self-proclaimed conspiracy to commit.

Checks and balances exist for a reason.

Residents may voice their concerns for the continued pattern of legally-defined unethical behavior exhibited by an appointed city officer by emailing Mayor Skip Henderson directly at SkipHenderson@columbusga.org, while cc’ing their respective city council members on the email.

Facts are stubborn things — and we’ll keep publishing them, whether city officials like them or not.

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