A Henry County commissioner abruptly resigned from office Tuesday, handing his resignation letter to the group’s chairwoman during a board meeting and walking out.
The commission had just started its meeting when Commissioner Greg Cannon, who in June won a special election to replace Republican District 3 Commissioner Gary Barham, spoke to his colleagues and the audience.
“Politics has obliterated the real mission of governing,” he said. “Politics has destroyed any expectation of genuine dialogue because there is no trust. There is always some unseen, unknown motivation at work. Politics has taken over.
“After much prayerful consideration, soul searching and thoughtful deliberation, I resign from the Henry County Board of Commissioners effective immediately on this day, Feb. 1, 2022, respectfully submitted,” he said, before turning to Commission Chairwoman Carlotta Harrell, who was sitting next to him, and handing her the resignation letter.
He then gathered his belongings and left.
Henry County spokeswoman Melissa Robinson said the Henry County Republican Party will submit three names from which the board can elect an interim successor for the remainder of the year. A permanent replacement will be elected to the seat in the November’s midterm elections.
Cannon’s resignation came as relations among the six members of the commission have strained over the past several months.
Commissioners shouted over each other during a recent debate on raises for county workers. In other instances, members slipped veiled allegations of nefarious offenses into conversations during meetings.
The commission was forced to cancel several meetings near the end of last year because members, protesting the proceedings, did not show up to reach a quorum.
And when Harrell announced in December that she had requested police protection because of death threats from the community, some commissioners questioned the cost of the security.
Cannon’s addition to the board last April was itself controversial.
After Barham’s death in March from complications of COVID-19, three of the four Democratic commissioners advocated keeping his seat open until the election, arguing that an appointee would have an unfair advantage of incumbency.
But a bill pushed through the Georgia Legislature in 2021 by state Sen. Emanuel Jones, D-Ellenwood, allowed the party holding the seat at the time of a leader’s death to nominate an interim candidate. Cannon was chosen among three people suggested by the Henry Republican Party and seated in April.
He went on to win the seat the next month over two Democratic opponents in the special election.
In his resignation, Cannon said citizens expect board members to govern by consensus and to be transparent in open meetings.
“I have not found these expectations are being met,” he said.
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