Mayor of Cumming, City Named in Lawsuit

Cumming Mayor H. Ford Gravitt is being sued by Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens for violating Georgia's Open Meetings Act.

The Complaint filed on Tuesday, June 5, names Mayor Gravitt as, "the individual and his official capacity as mayor," along with the city of Cumming.

The controversy stems from an incident that occurred during a city council meeting on April 17. The event caught on video by Roswell resident Nydia Tisdale shows Mayor Gravitt beginning the meeting, but first ordering Tisdale to turn off her video camera.

But her video camera was still recording – enough to capture Mayor Gravitt saying, "First of all, a little house cleaning. if you would remove the camera from the auditorium. We don't allow filming inside the city hall here."

After a brief protest by Tisdale stating her right to record the meeting, she did comply and turn her recorder off. She also remained at the meeting.

In the days ahead, Tisdale filed a complaint with the AG's office, and submitted a copy of the video capturing the incident.

What followed was communication between Olens' office and Dana Miles, city attorney. But in the end there was no resolve, and a lawsuit was filed.

"We tried to negotiate a settlement, but when a resolution could not be reached, it was necessary for the Attorney General to enforce the law by moving forward with the lawsuit," said Lauren Kane, the AG's spokesperson in an e-mail to Cumming Patch.

According to Kane, the lawsuit is the first of its kind against a local public official filed by the Office of the Attorney General.

As far as next steps go, Kane said, "An answer will be filed by the Defendants, then civil discovery will begin; there may be motions, and possibly a trial."

The mayor and city have 30 days to respond to the AG's office. The mayor is facing three counts (as stated in the Complaint):

• Violation of Georgia's Open Meetings Act in refusing to allow videotaping of meeting

• Violation of Georgia's Open Meetings Act for the forcible removal of citizen Tisdale

• Claim for attorney's fees

Kane said Mayor Gravitt could possibly pay as much as $6000, plus attorney's fees and that a judge will determine the amount.

When asked who would pay those potential fines, Mayor Gravitt or taxpayers? Kane said that would also be determined by a judge.

Tisdale told Cumming Patch that she thinks the attorney general filed an excellent lawsuit in explaining the actions made at the April 17 city council meeting and how the Open Meetings Act was violated.

Read the Complaint by the AG's office against Mayor Gravitt in the PDF file to the right.

She also doesn't believe that taxpayer money has been wasted in bringing this issue to Olens' attention.

"Certainly not. If anyone has wasted taxpayer dollars it's the city of Cumming, city of Cumming mayor and city of Cumming attorney," she said. "They violated the law, not Nydia Tisdale."

As of this writing, a phone call to Miles' office has not been returned.

Ironically, the incident occurred the same day Gov. Nathan Deal signed a bill updating the state’s Open Records Act.

“This legislation toughens enforcement of our Open Records law by substantially increasing penalties for noncompliance, allows for civil as well as criminal procedures and requires that all votes take place in a public forum,” said Deal in a news release. “We have crafted a document that makes it easier for Georgians to keep track of their government’s activities and to know their rights, and it clarifies the responsibilities of public officials.”

If you liked this article, you might also like: