The Mayor of Guyton asked City Councilman Theodore Hamby to resign from his post following a felony arrest for theft, allegedly from the city.
Guyton Mayor Andy Harville said Monday that he met with Hamby Friday afternoon and presented a letter for his consideration. In it, he asked that Hamby resign from his council seat. Harville reported that Hamby declined, citing advice of his attorney.
“While I believe it would be in the best interest of the city for Mr. Hamby to step down to facilitate a fresh start, I am currently exploring other possible options to move forward with this matter. I cannot provide any more details into the case, as it is still under investigation by the GBI,” Harville said in a news release.
Hamby was arrested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for alleged misuse of the city credit card. The GBI charged him with one count of Theft by Taking and one count of Financial Transaction Card Fraud – both felonies.
Other Process for Removal of Elected Officials
Unless an elected official voluntarily resigns, an individual cannot be forced to step away from their seat until the end of the court proceedings.
Under OCGA 45-5-6, no action can be taken to remove a public official from office until a person is indicted by a grand jury on felony charges and those felony charges are related ‘to the performance or activities’ of the office of the public official.
The prosecutor in the case is then required to send a certified copy of the indictment to the Governor who is then required to appoint a review commission. Traditionally the review commission is composed of the Attorney General and two other public officials who hold the same title as the individual indicted – so two other city council members within Georgia.
The commission then reviews the facts available at the time of indictment and makes a recommendation to the governor within 14 days.
If the commission determines that the indictment “relates to and adversely affects the administration of the office of the indicted public official and that the rights and interests of the public are adversely affected,” the commission is required to recommend that the public official be suspended from office. The governor is then permitted to, but not required to, suspend the public officer from office immediately. If the governor opts to suspend Hamby, it would be until the final disposition of the case or until the expiration of his term of office – whichever occurs first.
You can read Harville’s letter to Hamby below.
