Saying she’d had enough, Clarkston City Council member Susan Hood resigned her post midway through a packed town hall meeting Thursday night.
Hood asked for the meeting to give residents a chance to speak out following complaints about City Manager Shawanna Qawiy. But a little over halfway through, the councilwoman took the microphone and said she was tired of hearing character assassinations and unfounded rumors.
“The only thing that should matter, but nobody cares about, is competence and accountability,” Hood said. “So I leave it to y’all. I’ve got better things to do with my time. I’m out.”
Hood’s announcement that she was resigning effective immediately was met by gasps and some applause. Elected in 2021, she was midway through her first term on the council, which before her resignation was deadlocked 3-3 over its continued support for Qawiy.
Qawiy couldn’t be reached for comment. She did not react to any of the speakers’ comments, some of whom called for her ouster. But she hugged supporters after the meeting.
Mayor Beverly Burks said she knew Hood had considered resigning and tried to talk her out of it. Burks said she wasn’t accepting the resignation yet because it wasn’t in writing and hoped Hood would change her mind.
“I just want to give her a moment,” Burks said. “I want her to keep doing what she’s been doing.”
Hood said in an email Friday that she resigned out of frustration with council members who “are not willing to hold the city manager to the standards of performance necessary for this position.” She said Qawiy should have been terminated “some time ago” but did not elaborate on the specific reasons that caused her to lose trust in the city manager.
“I can no longer work alongside those who would rather damage the city than acknowledge the facts,” Hood said.
After Hood walked out, speakers continued lambasting the state of things in Clarkston and called for a third-party review. The standing-room-only crowd of about 100 was about evenly split between Qawiy’s supporters and those who back Police Chief Christine Hudson, who in April filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging Qawiy had discriminated against her. Residents on either side said the tension is tearing the city apart.
“It wasn’t long ago that Clarkston was known far and wide as the most diverse and welcoming square mile in the country,” resident Rich Pasenow said. “Now, unfortunately, we’re known as the most toxic and mismanaged square mile.”
Many of the comments at the town hall meeting involved concerns about safety in light of vacancies in the police department. More than half of the department’s positions are open, leaving nine officers to serve the city of about 14,500 people.
Officers have repeatedly raised concerns about pay and working conditions. In exit interviews, officers have cited the tension between Qawiy and Hudson, according to copies of notes provided to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution through a public records request.
“Leaving because the chief doesn’t have power over her department anymore, unlike when she first started,” the notes from one officer’s July 6 exit interview state. “Loved working for Clarkson but the environment is toxic after new leadership,” the notes from another officer’s July 10 exit interview state.
Megan Negrete, who lives in Clarkston, told council members she doesn’t feel as safe with all the police vacancies. Her car was broken into the night before the town hall meeting and she said the officer who responded told her he planned to leave the department but would make sure to file her report first.
Negrete implored council members to find a solution and was one of several speakers who suggested the city hire a third party to investigate the toxic workplace claims.
“I’m just asking that everyone dig deep and find a solution,” she said. “I want to be proud of living in Clarkston.”
Burks said she is open to a third-party investigation. She said it could help address rumors and give residents confidence about what’s happening.
“Where there’s a void people try to fill in things,” she said.
Some of Qawiy’s supporters said it was unfair to blame her for the police department vacancies and said the opposition to Qawiy is from people opposed to having a Black woman in charge.
“I think it’s unfair for you all to come and crucify her,” Pastor C. O. Adams said.
Dorothy Roper-Jackson, the city’s chief clerk of courts, said Hudson is responsible for the vacancies, not Qawiy.
“The chief of police should be held accountable for what’s taking place within her department,” Roper-Jackson said.
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