Fallout from Atlanta Inspector General Shannon Manigault’s sudden resignation continued Wednesday, less than 48 hours after city lawmakers approved changes to her office that critics contend will undermine anti-corruption efforts for the foreseeable future.
Atlanta City Council members voted 14-1 Monday evening in support of an ordinance that amends the city’s charter to further outline what the Office of Inspector General is and isn’t allowed to do during its anti-waste, fraud, and corruption investigations. Liliana Bakhtiari was the only council member who voted against the measure.
The request for changes to Atlanta’s OIG charter provisions came in response to pushback from elected leaders, including Mayor Andre Dickens and City Council member Michael Julian Bond, in addition to city administrators, employees, and union leaders. They say Manigault exceeded her legal authority as OIG, issued illegal subpoenas that opened the door for related lawsuits that could cost the city millions, and created a culture of fear among workers unsure of their legal rights.
Government accountability advocates say some elected leaders are working to undermine OIG efforts to investigate them and combat abuses of power, including misuse of taxpayer funds, nepotism, and preferential treatment regarding which local vendors are awarded lucrative city contract deals.
It’s unclear how changes to the city’s OIG powers will affect efforts to guard against corruption inside City Hall moving forward. It’s also unclear how Atlanta voters will respond to OIG pushback from their elected leaders, and whether the political battle will dissuade other OIG candidates from seeking to serve as Atlanta’s government watchdog.
Manigault announced her resignation during a Monday morning press conference outside City Hall, saying efforts from Dickens and other city leaders have made it impossible for to do her job. She also said abuse she’s endured has been extended to her family recently, and that the OIG legislation the City Council passed later the same day is “going to destroy the office.”
“I have done everything in my power to fight for the office so we can continue to serve you,” Manigault said Monday on the steps of City Hall. “I wish that there was more that I could do, but ultimately I can’t make the leadership of this city do right by the public.”
Challenges to monitoring government actions
The ordinance passed Monday requires a judge’s approval for subpoenas of third-party records, according to Atlanta City Council President Doug Shipman. The legislation prohibits the OIG from using certain kinds of surveillance technology, such as spy cams and other small recording devices, Shipman said, and splits the OIG’s current governing and ethics board into two separate bodies: one governing the OIG, the other governing the ethics office. It also requires the OIG board chair to be an attorney.
Responding to Manigault’s accusation that the new law undermines the OIG’s authority, Shipman, who recently announced he won’t seek reelection due to family medical concerns, expressed uncertainty.
“We’re going to have to wait and see what impact this has on the operations of the OIG’s office,” he said. “My bigger concern is we need to have an IG. We need to have a good IG. I hope all this controversy doesn’t dissuade good candidates from potentially taking the job.”
A spokesperson for Dickens declined to provide details on the search for Manigault’s replacement.
Felicia Moore, a former City Council president and mayoral candidate, and Nichole R. Hines, former member of the Governing Board of the Inspector General and the Ethics Office, spoke in support of Manigault during the press conference.
Moore, who lost to Dickens in a 2021 mayoral runoff race, accused her former rival of using union leaders and city employees as “human shields” to spread “false narratives” about the OIG and justify his push for changes to the office to help municipal leaders avoid the added anti-corruption scrutiny it offers.
She and others pointed to the 2023 OIG investigation into the mayor’s 2022 Senior Ball, an annual gala celebrating the city’s elder population, which found that the administration did not go through the proper procurement process to ensure minimal cost to taxpayers.
Hines resigned on Friday over disagreements about the OIG’s powers and independence. She reminded those in attendance on Monday of the multiple corruption scandals that emerged under former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed — malfeasances that compelled city leaders to create the OIG in the first place. She accused Dickens and his allies of working to undermine anti-corruption work.
“Instead of protecting this office, we have watched its authority and independence systematically get chipped away,” Hines said during the press conference. “The very office that was created to prevent corruption is now being undermined by the very powers it was meant to hold accountable.”
In a statement, Dickens’ office thanked Manigault for her service to the city and stressed his ongoing commitment to “ethical government.”
“The City will continue advancing policies and practices that reinforce public trust and protect taxpayer resources, while also ensuring all oversight efforts respect the rights of our employees and are conducted with fairness, transparency [in] accordance to the law,” a spokesperson said via email.
The “missteps” that proceeded Manigault’s resignation
Bond pushed back against critics calling for the City Council to reject the OIG ordinance, saying it’s necessary to prevent abuses of power moving forward.
Earlier this month, city security contractor Bernie Tokarz’s attorney accused the OIG and the city of illegally subpoenaing his client’s bank records without due notice during a 2024 investigation that concluded the city should no longer do business with one of Tokarz’s companies due to him failing to disclose his relationships with Bond and other city officials. The report noted Bond wasn’t accused of any related misconduct.
Tokarz’s lawsuit was filed shortly after City Attorney Patrise Perkins-Hooker accused Manigault’s office of issuing illegal subpoenas at least 50 times in violation of a state law that requires third parties be notified if their bank records are being subpoenaed.
Tokarz previously worked as Bond’s volunteer finance chair. During Monday’s City Council meeting, Bond said Manigault’s actions could cost the city millions of dollars if similar lawsuits are filed.
“This person took the power that they had, and they abused it,” Bond said of Manigault. “We do need an IG. … What we don’t need is someone who professes to be the bastion of integrity, but yet themselves engages in corrupt acts.”
Manigault’s office previously acknowledged its apparent subpoena “missteps,” adding that investigators acted “in good faith” and didn’t intentionally exceed their legal authority.
