Two Votes, Two Ties, No Tie-Breaker

By
MARY ANN ANDERSON
When former Ward 2 Councilman John Ramay tossed his hat into the ring for mayor in November’s general election, he may have unintentionally stirred the pot of Hazlehurst politics into turmoil.
With the mayor’s seat and two seats on the City Council – Wards 3 and 4 – already set for election, the decision of when to hold the special election to fill Ramay’s seat sparked a contentious battle among the council members during last Thursday’s called meeting to, as Mayor Bayne Stone stated at the outset, “get clarification on our vacancy and how it is to be handled.”
The quandary is that the current terms of Ward 3 Councilwoman Diane Leggett and Ward 4’s John Bloodworth expire at the end of the year, but Ramay is in the middle of his four-year term. In making his bid for mayor, Ramay had initially believed that he did not have to vacate his council seat, but later learned constitutional law required that he had to because he had two more years remaining on his term. Bloodworth, who also qualified for mayor, did not have to resign, as his term expires Dec. 31.
Through an intergovernmental agreement, the city contracts with Jeff Davis County’s elections office, helmed by Supervisor of Elections Christy Riner, to conduct the city’s elections. That also means the city no longer has anyone trained to hold elections, which was the intent of the agreement.
The purpose of the called meeting, said City Attorney Ken W. Smith, was to determine if the special election could be held in conjunction with the general election Nov. 7, adding it would save the city the extra cost of placing it on the ballot for March 4, the next scheduled date for elections.
“It also provides the people of Ward 2 a council member for the remainder of the following year,” Smith further explained.
While it seems the simplest resolution would be for the council to appoint a replacement until the election, Smith explained that under city charter, a council member cannot be appointed, so Ramay’s seat remains vacant. Smith noted, too, that if the special election is not held with the general election, the city would have to not only pay its portion of the election in November, but also must pay again in March, an expense of several thousand dollars.
But if the city voted to have the special election in November, it would also set the qualifying period for those interested in running for the Ward 2 seat.
Bloodworth stated that after he read the intergovernmental agreement, his concern was that Riner, as registrar, already had the ballots “built” for the November election and it’s too late to make changes.
But Smith reminded him that the county has “a contract of obligation” to conduct the election, and that the ballot would have to be changed only to reflect for Ward 2.
“They’re obligated to do it,” he said. “And if they don’t, then they’re in breach of contract … it would be lots cheaper to change the ballot than to hold an additional election in March.”
Smith said the charter states a special election must be called, with him adding he found it “hard to believe” that the ballot couldn’t be amended to include the Ward 2 seat. He also noted that if the council voted to hold the election in March, Ward 2 would be vacant until Jan. 1, 2025, when swearing-in ceremonies take place for all 2024-elected officials.
Bloodworth said that he didn’t want Ward 2 to be without representation until then, and quickly made a motion for Riner to hold the election in March.
Stone, citing his time as a Georgia legislator, noted that the same circumstances have taken place in other cities and counties, and according to the interpretation of those laws that came about as a result, the special election should be held in November to “get people in office quicker and save money.”
But Bloodworth said he had spoken with Riner, and that since her ballots were already in place, she believed she would be unable to hold the election before March.
“We’re under law,” Stone said to him. “She’s got plenty of time to prepare the ballot … it was designed in such a way to announce it and publish it and set the qualifying date and get the replacement on the November ballot.”
The mayor then made a motion to “follow the guidelines of the attorney” in setting the special election in November, but Bloodworth reminded him that his own motion to let Riner handle the election was still on the floor.
Smith then stated if the city wants the special election, a motion would have to be made and approved and then conveyed to the registrar. He then asked Bloodworth if he wanted to make that motion for the special election.
“No, sir,” was Bloodworth’s response, with Stone then telling Bloodworth that without a second to his original motion, it would die. But Bloodworth was adamant that his motion didn’t call for the special election, instead only for Riner to handle the elections.
Ward 1 Councilman Dywane Johnson reminded the council that the city was named a City of Ethics by the Georgia Municipal Association and that as such, it needed to follow the charter, even though it meant that no one could be appointed to the Ward 2 seat until the election.
With Smith again saying the election should be held with the general election, with minimal additional costs and have Ward 2 represented, Stone noted to the council, “If you follow our charter and the Georgia law, we’re doing exactly what we’re doing. If you don’t do that, you’re violating the charter and the law and incurring the expense.”
Leggett then seconded Bloodworth’s motion, but Stone asked the council to “defeat the motion” based on “the law, the Constitution, and common-sense economics.”
The vote was 2-2, with Bloodworth and Leggett for it and Stone and Johnson against.
After the failed motion, Stone made yet another to “follow the attorney, the law and the charter,” to hold the election in November, with Johnson seconding.
Ramay, who had served as council parliamentarian, spoke up from his seat at the back row of the conference room – his Ward 2 nameplate remaining on the council roundtable – and told Stone that as mayor he could make only a suggestion for a motion and not the motion itself. But Stone was adamant, telling Ramay that he “legally” could make a motion.
“Whatever you say,” Ramay fired back, “You’re the dictator.”
But Smith quickly intervened, telling Ramay that Stone is a council member, and that any council member can make a motion.
Bloodworth then said he didn’t think it “fair” to rush to fill Ward 2, with the city attorney reminding him, “I’m speaking strictly legally. The law sets what’s proper notice. And it’s within proper notice. And politically, if you don’t feel it’s proper notice, that’s one thing, but the law says it is proper notice.”
Stone, noting that the city has a “strange and deadly situation” on its hands, called for the vote, the outcome again 2-2 with he and Johnson voting for it and Leggett and Bloodworth against it.
With a clear stalemate and no election date in sight, Stone noted, “I think we’re making a foolish mistake. I think we’re violating the law that we’ve been given, we’re violating our own charter, and we’re incurring an expense that’s absolutely not necessary.”
Smith, his frustration apparent, stated once more that, in his legal opinion, the charter requires the council to call the special election, and that Bloodworth and Leggett, by voting against it, were shirking their constitutional “responsibilities and duties.”
“This is the reason this law exists, the very thing,” Stone said, his disappointment also apparent. “We’ve played it perfectly. That’s why the general assembly did this.”
Even after City Clerk Vernice Thompson read the elections codes aloud to the council, there was almost no further discussion as the meeting adjourned, with Stone concluding, “We don’t know where we are, to tell you the truth. We’re leaving just as undecided as we were when we walked in.”