Ongoing battle troubles College Park

Frustrated residents want the mayor and the City Council to settle their conflict and fix what’s broken.

The mayor of College Park is awaiting a decision from a federal court judge on a legal motion that could allow her to engage in debate once again on City Council agenda items during meetings.

Mayor Bianca Motley Broom is suing the city she leads over an ordinance passed by the City Council in January that limits her powers. Through a legal motion, attorney Chris Balch has asked the judge to stop those ordinances from being in effect while the lawsuit is pending.

The conflict has led some residents to criticize both Motley Broom and the council, and describe the elected body as dysfunctional.

During a regular council meeting last week, residents urged the mayor and council to fix their relationship and fix what’s broken in their neighborhoods. Resident Larry Brady Evans showed a photo of a stop sign turned upside down on a pole in his neighborhood.

“Something just ain’t right here,” Evans said of the divide between council members and Motley Broom.

Two other residents told officials about broken cameras in their neighborhoods that they believe hinder police from solving crimes.

James Walker, a former mayoral

opponent to Motley Broom, said a car thief vandalized his property after recklessly driving onto his yard on a Saturday afternoon, but the inoperable cameras cannot help police catch the driver.

Walker, in his comment, took issue with Motley Broom’s lawsuit but called on both the City Council and the mayor to make sure all of the street cameras in College Park operate effectively.

“Apparently our city government does not take our safety as seriously as they say,” he said.

Resident Natasha Barnett is urging citizens to conduct their own fact-finding mission on the City Hall controversy. Barnett noted the departure of former City Manager Stanley Hawthorne and 14 motions for ordinances put forth and approved by the City Council in January. The ordinances prohibit the mayor from weighing in on agenda items as they are discussed during meetings.

In January, the City Council had to rescind the firing of Hawthorne and instead has accepted his resignation.

Part of his resignation letter states that council members ordered the public works department to seal a door between Motley Broom’s office and an office for administrative assistants. The doorway later became a permanent wall, according to the letter.

On Thursday, the four council members, Roderick Gay, Joe Carn, Jamelle McKenzie and Tracie Arnold, as well as Acting City Manager Emmanuel O. Adediran, attended a town hall meeting hosted by Gay. Each spoke to the crowd, emphasizing they are united as city leaders, and did not mention Motley Broom directly.

“Not since my family (moved) here in 1998 has there been a unified council,” Gay said. “It’s just like we died and gone to heaven.”

COURTESY Bianca Motley Broom, mayor of College Park, is suing over an ordinance that limits her powers and has created a rift with the City Council.