Monday, February 11, 2013
Former ethics watchdog George Anderson issues a formal apology to the citizens of Snellville in this letter to the editor.
(Editor's note: the following is a letter to the editor sent by George Anderson, a citizen who filed an ethics complaint against Mayor Pro Tem Tom Witts last year. The statements made are the opinion of the author, and they do not represent the views of Snellville Patch. For background information on this letter, scroll to the bottom of the story.) I make a Formal Apology to all Citizens of Snellville, Georgia, as well as, the City of Snellville elected officials for the following errors and misjudgments: I have been educating voters, as well as, monitoring elected officials across the State of Georgia for, almost, 20 years. However, I came into your fair City last year with biased feelings/judgmental feelings regarding some of your …
Other discussion items include the sign ordinance, and ethics watchdog George Anderson is expected to issue a formal apology.
Snellville City Council will meet Feb. 11 for a regularly scheduled meeting at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall. A work session will be held at 6:30 p.m. The full notes can be found on the City's website. Work Session Discussion Items Include: Council Meeting Discussion Items Include:
Monday, January 14, 2013
In a Shakespearean-style speech, Anderson asks that the city drop their lawsuit against him
(Editor's note: the following is a letter to the editor sent by George Anderson, a citizen who filed an ethics complaint against Mayor Pro Tem Tom Witts last year. The statements made are the opinion of the author, and they do not represent the views of Snellville Patch. For background information on this letter, scroll to the bottom of the story. Since the items in question are part of a lawsuit, Mayor and council will likely not comment. Anderson originally planned to say this during tonight's council meeting, but determined that his statements would exceed the five-minute time limit. One more thing: his style of writing is based [on purpose] off various plays by William Shakespeare, including Julius Caesar. For comparison, click here.) …
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Anderson originally filed ethics complaints against Mayor Pro Tem Tom Witts.
At the advice of the city attorney, Tony Powell, the City of Snellville has filed a lawsuit against ethics watchdog George Anderson. Anderson filed numerous ethics complaints against Mayor Pro Tem Tom Witts earlier this year, alleging that Witts had violated his oath of office when he was sworn in. His violation, according to Anderson, was failing to declare that he owed back taxes. When George Anderson heard that the suit had been filed, he responded in a Dec. 4 email by saying the council was "wasting taxpayer funds during a down economy," and that they should be "ashamed." Anderson's Ethics in Government group was recently dissolved, with Anderson citing health issues as the reason for his quasi-retirement. Powell, along with …
Monday, September 24, 2012
Gov. Nathan Deal has filed for attorney's fees regarding an ethics violation brought against him by George Anderson. Meanwhile, a local nonprofit is trying to change the law regarding ethics complaints.
On Sept. 20, Governor Nathan Deal filed for attorney's fees against George Anderson, Executive Director of Ethics in Government Group, claiming that Anderson "filed unsubstantiated, as well as, frivolous accusations concerning payments to Southern Magnolia LLC, alleging kickbacks to Respondent, untrue allegations of personal profit from campaign funds, as well as, allegations regarding good friend and appointee Patrick Millsaps to the State Ethics Commission." Anderson claims that he is being attacked with "abuse litigation." "I am being attacked against my Constitutional rights to petition the government for a redress of grievances under the United States Constitution under Amendment I Article I," he said in an email to Snellville Patch. …
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
The decision was not reached without controversy, and involves activist's "frivolous" ethics charges against councilman Tom Witts.
Editor's Note: This article was updated for clarification. During the first few minutes of last night's council meeting, a few items were changed in the agenda. Items B (changes to the charter) and E (contract with Knights Unlimited, Inc.) were moved to "new business" with no problem. There was a problem, however, when Mayor Pro Tem Tom Witts reminded the council that there was another agenda item that was supposed to have been moved. “Madam Chair, I believe there was one more agenda change,” Witts said. “Moving Anderson from public comment to item C.” Mayor Kautz felt that change was “out of order,” despite the fact that had been discussed previously in the work session. The recommendation to move George Anderson's comments was …
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Snellville Councilman Tom Witts, supporters, walked out of a Friday press conference before it was finished.
The executive director of a Georgia watchdog group announced his intentions to file ethics complaints against two Snellville officials Friday afternoon. But less than 10 minutes into a press conference in a front hallway at City Hall, Ethics in Government Group head George Anderson lost most of the audience. A group of more than a dozen supporters of Councilman Tom Witts, and Witts himself, walked out the front door, saying there are no merits to Anderson’s claims. After they left, only a couple of media people and three or four others remained as Anderson further claimed he had evidence Witts and Snellville's Chief Municipal Court Judge Mark Layng violated a handful of ethics codes. Anderson says he is asking for investigations into …
Diana
1:40 pm on Friday, February 15, 2013
I've lived here since 1987 and I wanted to make a difference as well. The then mayor Emmet Clower sought me out at work twice to spew anger, we had a disagreement over Briscoe Park. Clower was replaced by Brett Harrel to whom I greatly admire and feel was the best thing to ever happen to Snellville, he very smartly left after one term. Thing is, things get done in Snellville even though they are … more ›