The East Point City Council Votes To Remove Ward C Resident From Ethics Board: Council Determines He Was Not Eligible To Serve At The Time Councilmember Japera Hemming Appointed Him

At its regularly scheduled meeting last night, the East Point City Council voted to remove Ward C resident Jeremy Taylor from the city’s Ethics Board, which Ward A At-Large Councilmember Japera Hemming appointed him to in February.

The vote was the culmination of a term for Taylor which came under scrutiny and became controversial after a citizens group identified as The Georgia Accountability Project uncovered an email exchange through Open Records Requests that revealed Hemming had concerns over Taylor’s eligibility to serve on the Board, prior to appointing him. The East Point Ethics Board hears ethic complaints in the City and has the power to make legally binding determinations based on its findings.

At issue was whether or not Taylor was eligible to serve based on the City Attorney’s interpretation of the City’s Code, which indicates that anyone serving on the Board must not have a connection to any “official action” of the City within the proceeding 12 months prior to their appointment.

Taylor filed ethics complaints against two former Councilmembers last October and those cases were pending at the time of Taylor’s appointment, which Hemming would eventually make in February–days after records show Hemming received an email from Wiggins, who offered her opinion that Taylor was not eligible to serve.

The East Point News would obtain the emails and then conduct an investigation and report which would reveal Hemming reached out to City Attorney L’Erin Wiggins for Wiggins’s legal opinion over the then-prospective appointment in early February. In the email exchange, Wiggins advised Hemming that a section of the Code gave her “pause” as to Taylor’s eligibility; however, in the same email, Wiggins would offer her final assessment that Taylor was not eligible to serve based on Wiggins’s reading of the City Code.

But Hemming proceeded with Taylor’s appointment anyway, and did not divulge the information she received from Wiggins with the full Council, which did not sit well with Councilmember Andrea Caldwell (Ward D At-Large). Caldwell said during the meeting that she did not appreciate Hemming withholding information concerning a prospective appointee’s eligibility. Councilmember T. Starr Cummings agreed.

However, Hemming dug in, challenging not only the Code’s definition but Wiggins’s interpretation of it, then requested a legal opinion from Wiggins–which she had already sought and received before, based on the email exchange.

Hemming briefly left the meeting after requesting to be excused by the Mayor; however the Mayor declined to approve Hemming’s request but Hemming still left around 11 P.M..

Moments later, Hemming returned, was allowed to speak, and then attempted to cast her vote opposing Taylor’s removal.

However, Hemming was apparently unaware that her earlier unexcused departure from the meeting and Council Rules precluded her from taking part in the vote.

Hemming was supported by Ward B Councilmember Carrie Ziegler, who cast the lone vote to keep Taylor on the Board.

During the discussion, Councilmember Tremayne Mitchell questioned whether Taylor ever qualified to serve on the Board, per the City’s written Code. The rest of the Council appeared to agree, and would determine there was cause to remove Taylor and the vote was cast in favor of removal.

Taylor was not present for the proceedings.

Hemming will have an opportunity to appoint a replacement for Taylor.

Hemming’s actions as Taylor continued to serve on the Board amid the controversy became a topic of controversy in the community and on social media.

A petition was organized to remove Taylor from the Board as full details and emails went public. That petition drew dozens of signatures.