Residents may voice their concerns regarding the Mayor’s tyrannical overreach of appointing a city officer without first receiving a majority vote of city council by emailing Mayor Skip Henderson directly at SkipHenderson@columbusga.org, while cc’ing their respective city council members on the email.

COLUMBUS, Ga. — “Tyranny can scarcely be practiced upon a virtuous and wise people.” — John Adams, in his personal diary, July 31, 1796.

Mayor Skip Henderson has brazenly violated city ordinances and the checks and balances of the American form of government by unilaterally appointing a city officer without first receiving the required approving vote of city council, as dictated by the Columbus Code of Ordinances.

On Friday, May 5, 2023, Henderson appointed Stoney Mathis as the new chief of the Columbus Police Department. Henderson’s action was very public and widely distributed through a press release made by his office.

Mathis’ first day of work is Monday, May 8, 2023.

However, the Columbus Code of Ordinances requires the Mayor to first receive a majority vote from city council before such an appointment can be made.

Henderson ignored that law and unilaterally made the appointment without so much as even informing city council, let alone getting their required vote of approval. No such required vote was taken. 

City councilors were instead forced to find out about Henderson’s appointment through his press release. 

They were purposefully left completely in the dark in violation of city law.

According to sources close to the Muckraker, city council members are not happy about Henderson’s illegal overreach.

THE LAW

When former police chief Freddie Blackmon was relieved of his duties on April 6, a vacancy was created for a city officer. That vacancy must be filled in accordance with the law.

The procedures for filling that vacancy are very specifically dictated by the Columbus Code of Ordinances.

As stated in Section 4-320 of the Columbus Code of Ordinances:

“Vacancies occurring in the office of the Chief of Police of Columbus, Georgia shall be filled in the same manner as prescribed in Chapter 2 for original appointment.”

That manner of appointment in Chapter 2 is defined by Section 4-201, “Power and Duties of the Mayor.” Paragraph 15 of those powers define the procedure for the appointment of city officers, which limits the mayor’s power and prevents him from making a unilateral appointment without receiving an approving vote of city council. 

According to the law, the mayor only has the power: 

“Subject to the approval of six (6) members of the council, to appoint and remove City Officers as defined in Section 4-300 below.” 

Given that the chief of police is a city officer as defined in Section 4-300, a majority vote of city council must be received before a chief of police can be appointed.

No such vote was held.

Mayor Henderson made the appointment without even bothering to notify city council at all.

THE DIE HAS ALREADY BEEN CAST

Mayor Henderson made his tyrannically-overreaching appointment last Friday, May 5, stating that Mathis’ first day as Chief of Police will be Monday, May 8.

Henderson therefore announced Mathis will begin his work as Chief of Police before the matter even had the opportunity to be on the agenda for a city council meeting, let alone to have received a majority vote as required by law.

Even if Henderson were to now try to bring the issue to council to get their vote at the upcoming council meeting on Tuesday, May 9, Henderson has already made the illegal appointment unilaterally without getting council’s vote first.

Henderson has already tyrannically violated the law.

The die has already been cast.

NO SUCH THING AS INTERIM CHIEF

Whenever a vacancy for a chief of police occurs, the statutory procedure must be followed to appoint a replacement in accordance with Section 4-320. There is no such thing as an “interim.”

The only place the word “interim” exists within the code is during “Emergency Appointment” as outlined in Chapter 2, Article IV, which only applies during a legitimate emergency that involves an attack on the United States by its enemies. 

Obviously, the appointment of Chief Mathis is not an emergency appointment, as the criteria of being under attack quite clearly has not been met. Even if those conditions were applicable, that procedure was not followed, either; the mayor simply did whatever he wanted.

Nowhere else does the term “interim chief” appear in the Columbus Code of Ordinances. According to the Columbus Code of Ordinances, there is no such thing as an interim chief.

Therefore, proper procedure must be followed for the appointment of a chief of police in accordance with Section 4-320 as described above — regardless of whatever imaginary “interim” title the Mayor prefers to use. The mayor does not have the power to appoint whomever he wants without council’s approval.

In fact, Section 4-320 specifically states that any vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as if it were for the original position. 

That proper procedure requires a majority vote of city council.

Instead, city councilors were intentionally left completely out of the loop and were not even informed by Henderson, let alone consulted or given the opportunity to cast their legally-required vote.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Given the very specific requirements for the appointment of a city officer dictated by Section 4-320, and given the fact that Mayor Skip Henderson took the unilateral action that he did — without even bothering to inform city council members let alone cast their required votes — in clear violation of Section 4-320, it is therefore our conclusion that Mayor Henderson knowingly and brazenly violated city ordinance by unilaterally appointing a chief of police without first receiving a majority vote of the Columbus City Council. 

Henderson took action that negated the statutory power of our city’s elected legislative officials.

Henderson overrode the power of democracy.

Henderson is a tyrant.

Accountability matters.

Residents may voice their concerns regarding the Mayor’s tyrannical overreach of appointing a city officer without first receiving a majority vote of city council 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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