Howard Law Firm Fights For Besieged Swainsboro City Councilmembers
Source: https://cityofswainsboro.org/citycouncil/
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – For a brief moment in time, three Black City Councilmembers in Swainsboro, Georgia, thought they had achieved a huge level of political responsibility when they became the voting majority for the five-member City Council of Swainsboro. This newfound power was the direct result of the removal of a fellow councilmember by the entire council, who failed to attend regularly scheduled council meetings.
The three councilmembers John E. Parker, Bobbie Collins and Rita Faulkner, immediately used their newfound power to require a COVID mask mandate for all Swainsboro City employees, and to engineer a two-dollar per hour, hazard pay raise for the same workforce. The councilmembers also decided to move forward to meet deadlines for a 2.38 million dollar federal American Rescue Act appropriation awarded to the City of Swainsboro. The money was designated for underserved and minority communities.
The three Councilmembers questioned a $151,610.00 capital improvement funding request in the proposed 2022 City of Swainsboro Annual Budget which unexpectedly agitated their white colleagues who included the Mayor of Swainsboro, two City Councilmembers and the City Administrator. The agitation led to a walkout by the two white councilmembers and the mayor abruptly ended two council meetings and the cancelation of a third. The three council members clearly needed legal assistance.
The three Councilmembers hired the Paul Howard Law Firm to help them fight this assault. On October 1, 2021, The Paul Howard Law Firm filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of Emanuel County, seeking a Declaratory Judgement directing the city of Swainsboro and the Mayor to halt their harmful political maneuvers.
Paul Howard said, ‘It is a shame that Black elected officials are not provided the human and political respect they deserve and have earned through their hard work. We will fight with these brave city officials for the betterment of the Swainsboro community.”