Lawyers representing Fulton County Commissioner Lynne Riley have asked a superior court judge to declare the Fulton County Ethics Board unconstitutional and quash a subpoena demanding that the commissioner attend an evidentiary hearing to determine whether Riley’s support for the creation of Milton County creates a conflict of interest with her position on the Fulton Commission, which has taken an official position opposing re-splitting Fulton to create the new county. Then-rural Milton County merged with Fulton in 1932.

The complaint was filed by Riley’s attorney, state Rep. Wendell Willard, R-Sandy Springs, who said he did not request any emergency action regarding the subpoena but would appear with Riley before the committee Thursday morning.

“We’re going address the board and hope they see that the proper thing to do is hold off on any action until we’ve had a chance to address the issues we‘ve raised,” said Willard.

The hearing is the result of a complaint filed with the board last year by six state House members representing districts in south and central Fulton who charged that Riley’s advocacy for splitting the county constitutes a violation of her oath of office and is in conflict with her duties as an elected county official.

Willard’s filing argues that the board, which has one member appointed by the Fulton County Commission, one by the county personnel board and five others named by the presidents of two bar associations, the Atlanta Business League and the North Fulton and Atlanta Airport Area chambers of commerce, is an unconstitutional delegation of authority to private individuals and that its members are “unlawfully and illegally occupying the offices of members of the Board of Ethics.”

It asks the court to either bar the board from any further action against Riley or remove all of its members with the exception of the Fulton County Commission appointee.

The board meets at 10 a.m. Thursday in Room 4056 of the Fulton County Government Building.

Contributor: Greg Land in Politics | subscribe to rss |   share