Jayden Williams, 23, was impeached and removed as Stockbridge mayor Saturday after a 10-hour hearing.
The Georgia city’s youngest mayor lost office on a three-to-one council vote just 10 months into his term, following accusations that he ran up roughly $4,000 in personal expenses on a city credit card and sexted an 18-year-old male high school student, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Williams has not been criminally charged.
His lawyer, Robert Kenner, delivered a stark warning during the proceedings about the implications of ousting an elected official.
“You will be setting a dangerous precedent by removing an elected official that the citizens of this city have duly elected by allowing people to come up with all kinds of accusations, innuendos that are unfounded,” Kenner said.
Kenner accused prosecutors of attempting to “defame” Williams and questioned whether personal disapproval justified such a severe penalty.
“Just because you may not like how he moves, you may not like the way he speaks, you may not like the way he speaks, you may not like his lifestyle, but is that enough to take a draconian action to remove the city mayor?”
Robbie Ashe, one of the city’s prosecutors, countered that the allegations represented a betrayal of public trust, the Journal-Constitution reported.
The hearing drew residents divided over the council’s handling of the case. Kristina Warren, a Stockbridge resident, told Atlanta News First she saw bias in the proceedings.
“The city council has been very biased towards him,” Warren said.
“I just think that he deserves a more fair chance at being mayor. He’s a very young individual, people are taking advantage of that. They’ve not tried to see his potential and what he has to offer.”
Other residents expressed sorrow and confusion about the outcome. Vickie Anderson, who had voted for Williams, called the saga a “nightmare” and a “mess.”
“I just really feel sad for the city,” Anderson told WSB. “I don’t know where we’re going to go from here.”
Brandon Walker, another resident, told the same station that Williams needed a “mentor” given his relative inexperience.
The spending investigation that preceded the impeachment began after Williams was stripped of his duties and privileges in late July. During the probe, investigators found he spent $322 at upscale restaurant Pandora on the Square on Father’s Day using his city P-card. He initially claimed on a lost-receipt form that the money went toward gift cards for his staffers, then changed his story when pressed to name them, calling the first claim a “typo” and saying he bought gift cards for members of another company. Investigators also uncovered purchases of sodas and brunches on the card.
The sexting allegations involved a student who became acquainted with Williams through the mayor’s personal mentoring program, according to a police report reviewed by the Journal-Constitution. Williams maintained the program had no city connection. The student claimed they exchanged explicit photos; Williams, when questioned by city prosecutors, refused to admit sending nude images but acknowledged receiving an explicit picture from the student. He strongly denied having sex with anyone in his mentoring program. Under Georgia law, the student was considered an adult at 18.
Kenner has vowed to fight the removal, though it remains unclear whether a lawsuit will be filed.