Concerned Citizens of Gordon claim no wrongdoing in recent lawsuit filing

Wayne Kendall filed three new documents regarding the citizens of Gordon.

GORDON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The attorney for the Concerned Citizens of Gordon said the group has done nothing wrong after the mayor’s attorney filed a new complaint against them.

The attorney representing the Gordon Mayor, Wayne Kendall, filed the new complaint against two council members, the CCOG and two of its members.

“Terry Eady and Freddie Densley, as council persons, did not have the right to file the claims that they filed against Mayor Lue by virtue of a charter provision,” explained Kendall.

Kendall is asking for Eady and Densley to be removed from office. Section 2.16 of the charter says “no elected official, appointed officer, or employee of the city or any agency or political entity to which this charter applies shall knowingly represent other private interests in any action of proceeding.” Kendall claims the two councilmen violated this provision when they filed a lawsuit against the mayor in her official capacity in March 2014.

“It’s a frivolous lawsuit in an attempt to harass my client, and that’s all it is,” said Devlin Cooper, the attorney representing the CCOG. Eady and Densley are members of the CCOG. Cooper claimed the mayor would be violating the same charter provision in her pending lawsuit against the city.

The complaint claims the CCOG should have been registered with the state under the Georgia Governmental Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission Act. It argues the group raised money to support Eady and Densley’s campaigns, and the lawsuit asking for the mayor to be removed.

“They’ve never participated in any campaign finance of any type. The only thing that they need to be registered with is the Georgia Secretary of State as a corporation and that’s what they are,” explained Cooper.

The group posted on Facebook saying “the Concerned Citizens of Gordon have never donated to anyone’s political campaign. Any funds obtained went toward attorney fees.”

Facebook post from Concerned Citizens of Gordon

“The next step is to serve us with the lawsuit and then we will file an answer to the lawsuit denying everything and we’ll also file a motion to dismiss,” said Cooper.

Kendall explained he didn’t ask for Eady and Densley’s removal when the original lawsuit was filed in March 2014 because he wasn’t aware of the charter provision.

GORDON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The Gordon mayor’s attorney wants two city council members removed from their positions.

Wayne Kendall filed three new documents regarding the city of Gordon recently. The first is a response to Gordon City Attorney Joseph Boone’s request to have the case regarding Kendall’s payment by the city, transferred to Wilkinson County. Kendall explained this case is supposed to be heard in Fulton County because Georgia law states a case can be heard in any county where a plaintiff or defendant resides. Kendall said the insurance agent involved in the lawsuit resides in Fulton County. He explained Boone filed the motion to transfer the case to Wilkinson County because Boone claimed it would be an inconvenience to travel to Fulton County.

The second document filed is a motion to disqualify Boone as the city attorney for the same case. Kendall claims Boone misconstrues the issues presented by his representation of the City of Gordon in this litigation.

The final document is a new complaint against Councilmen Terry Eady and Freddie Densley and the Concerned Citizens of Gordon. Kendall wants Eady and Densley removed from their positions because he claims they violated the city charter when they sued Gordon Mayor Mary Ann Whipple-Lue in their individual capacity. Kendall said the charter says no member of council can file a lawsuit against the city or any of its departments representing their own or other interest. Kendall included the CCOG because he said they are a campaign committee and should have registered with the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Commission.

When asked why he didn’t file the complaint against Eady and Densley when the original lawsuit began, Kendall explained he wasn’t aware of the charter provision at the time. He discovered it as litigation continued.

Kendall expects the people involved in the new complaint to receive the allegations and file a response before a hearing is scheduled to see if there is substantial evidence to move forward with the claims.

41NBC reached out to the attorney representing the CCOG and Eady. We have not heard back yet.