State Supreme Court rules Gordon mayor may stay in office for now

ATLANTA, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The Supreme Court of Georgia ruled Gordon Mayor Mary Ann Whipple-Lue can stay in office, but a lawsuit several citizens filed to get her removed will continue. 

Whipple-Lue has served as mayor since January 2014. 

Several council members and residents who refer to themselves as the “Concerned Citizens of Gordon,” claim Whipple-Lue violated the state’s Open Meetings Act, misappropriated city funding, and violated other laws concerning her conduct as a public official. 

A judge suspended Whipple-Lue from office in June 2014 after the ‘Concerned Citizens’ filed an application for a temporary restraining order. 

A month later, a trial court ended Lue’s suspension, but put restrictions on her including prohibiting her from meeting privately with three or more council members discussing city business, voting unless there was three-to-three tie, and from terminating any city employee without full due process and the court’s approval. 

The city charter states that the grounds for removing a mayor includes incompetence, misfeasance, or malfeasance in office, but the complaint for removal from office must be placed against the office holder  in his or her individual capacity, not against the office.

The complaint against Whipple-Lue does not name her in her individual or personal capacity.