Gordon residents file suit to remove councilmen, elections board member from office
Five Gordon residents have filed suit seeking to remove three elected officials from office and alleging that an oversight group, the
Concerned Citizens of Gordon, violated state campaign finance regulations.
The residents -- Elijah Simmons, Kay Harris, Catherine L. Wells, Willie Mae Valdez and Michael Rice -- contend that Gordon city councilmen Terry Eady and Freddie Densley violated the city's charter by filing a separate suit in 2014 to remove Gordon Mayor Mary Ann Whipple-Lue from office, according to the lawsuit, filed in Wilkinson County Superior Court.
The suit contends that Gordon's city charter prohibits any "elected official, appointed officer or employee of the city" from representing "other private interests in any action or proceeding against this city or any portion of its government."
The residents also contend that Konreid Etheridge, a member of the Wilkinson County Board of Elections and Registration, who's also a member of the Concerned Citizens of Gordon and a plaintiff in the suit against the mayor, violated a state law that prohibits a member of a county board of elections and registration from criticizing a candidate or officeholder.
The suit also alleges that Alicia Floyd, CEO of Concerned Citizens of Gordon, raised money to support political campaigns for Eady and Densley, along with paying legal fees related to the suit against Whipple-Lue, but failed to register and file campaign disclosure reports with the state.
Devlin Cooper, a Macon attorney representing Eady, Densley and the Concerned Citizens group in their suit against the mayor, said, "We think this is a frivolous lawsuit."
He said his clients haven't made any political contributions using the Concerned Citizens corporation and have only used the organization's funds to pay legal fees.
To contact writer Amy Leigh Womack, call 744-4398 or find her on Twitter@awomackmacon.
This story was originally published January 27, 2016 at 6:30 PM with the headline "Gordon residents file suit to remove councilmen, elections board member from office ."