JONESBORO, Ga. — Jonesboro City Councilmembers met for the first time Monday evening since the mayor announced her resignation, then rescinded it.
Some council members thought her original resignation should stand, but the mayor said she’s finishing out her term.
People packed the council room at the Jonesboro City Center for the meeting.
Many people showed up to support Mayor Donya Sartor, including the city of South Fulton’s embattled mayor, Khalid Kamau.
However, some people said the infighting is making the city look bad.
“Frankly, it’s embarrassing,” said former city councilman, Ed Wise. “We’re tired of seeing the negative press.”
In a special meeting on Thursday, Sartor announced she was resigning. However, the next day, she withdrew her resignation.
“Being just reminded of how I got in this place, and those things that played a factor in me even considering that, are no longer in play,” Sartor said.
Originally, Sartor gave a date of April 19 because she said the city council had called for a forensic audit of Jonesboro’s finances.
While she said there have been no allegations of wrongdoing, she wanted to cooperate with the audit by stepping down.
At Monday’s meeting, the council voted to proceed with their regular annual audit, and if something comes up during that audit, then they’ll move forward with looking into a forensic audit.
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As for the resignation, the council didn’t take any action on that.
“It was really encouraging for them not to try to,” Sartor said. “Today would have been a great opportunity for them to do that.”
When Channel 2′s Eryn Rogers asked what was next, she was told it’s a game of ‘wait and see’.
“To me, it’s very clear what the state law says, a resignation unless rendered to be immediate, you have to vote on it and accept, they did not take that opportunity,” Sartor said.
However, Councilman Don Dixon said they can still call a special meeting to take a vote on accepting her original resignation.
“The way I look at it is it was voted on because the way she did that, it was in writing, in a public meeting, and no councilmember said anything, so that can be accepted,” Dixon said.
Sartor was elected the city’s first Black mayor in March 2023.
The mayor has found herself at the center of controversy before.
Channel 2 investigative reporter Ashli Lincoln first reported on allegations of misconduct after councilmembers voted to conduct an independent investigation into allegations of abuse of power and misuse of city resources.
She said the allegations were nothing more than an attempt to discredit her leadership.
In September 2023, she was accused of pointing a loaded gun at a police officer, but the Georgia Bureau of Investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing.
Sartor also received criticism for firing a police officer who was involved in the investigation against her, as well as the police chief.
She said replacing officials like the police chief is not uncommon when a new mayor takes office.
Rogers also confirmed Monday night another high-level city leader is turning in their resignation this week because of the turmoil.
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