Government accountability advocates are asking Atlanta residents to voice support for Atlanta Inspector General Shannon Manigault ahead of a series of pivotal City Council votes that some fear will undermine efforts to root out corruption at City Hall.
Committee on Council members downtown are set to decide during an 11 a.m. Monday meeting whether to kill or advance a proposed amendment to the city’s charter that would further outline and limit the powers of Manigault’s office.
The veteran anti-corruption official, who’s been on the job in Atlanta since December 2020, has taken heat from Mayor Andre Dickens and city employee union leaders who argue she’s exceeded her legal authority and created a culture of fear among municipal workers who worry their rights have been violated during OIG misconduct investigations.
During a Thursday night town hall meeting, Manigault doubled down on accusing Dickens and his allies of working to undermine anti-corruption efforts to avoid scrutiny.
The gathering was co-organized by a coalition of progressive advocacy groups, including the Southern Center for Human Rights, Working Families Power, and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, to build support for Manigault in efforts to promote greater transparency and accountability in Atlanta municipal government.
“There’s a culture that’s here that’s, ‘Go along, get along,’” Manigault told attendees at the meeting, describing remarks she said she’s heard from other city officials who have voiced support for her efforts.
“The idea is, ‘This is the way we do things [in Atlanta],’” Manigault continued. “Yes, I’m going to give a job to my brother. Yes, I’m going to give an opportunity to this guy who went to my high school. That is so built into the experience here. … [OIG work] is disrupting the norm here. And the reaction to that has been strong.”
Dickens’ office hasn’t responded to multiple emails requesting comment. In November, the mayor accused Manigault’s office of accidentally leaking his Social Security information online and buying “spy pins and nanny cams” to set up at City Hall. Manigault has repeatedly denied using spy cams for OIG investigations.
“Absolute power corrupts absolutely,” Dickens told the governing board that oversees the inspector general and ethics offices during a special meeting in late November. “There should be checks and balances. No one should play judge, jury, [and executioner].”
Manigault and her supporters have maintained that her office’s tactics are standard practice for inspectors general across the country, arguing Atlanta officials need to get with the program if they want to maintain public trust.
“I’m very well familiar with what the OIG is supposed to stand for, but somehow they’ve gotten out of hand,” Gina Pagnotta, president of Atlanta’s local Professional Association for City Employees union, told Atlanta City Council members in December.
The council voted to create an OIG office in February 2020 after at least three high-ranking Atlanta officials — former Atlanta Chief Financial Officer Jimmie Beard, former Chief Procurement Officer Adam Smith, and former Deputy Chief of Staff Evelyn Katrina Taylor-Parks — were convicted in separate corruption scandals involving theft of city funds, obstructing federal tax laws, and accepting more than $40,000 in bribes in exchange for city contract deals worth millions.
Last year, an OIG investigation led to the firing of former Atlanta Human Resource Commissioner Tarlesha Smith following allegations of nepotism and administrative retribution. Smith was accused of helping her daughter land a city job for which she wasn’t qualified before allegedly working to oust an HR supervisor for attempting to terminate her daughter’s employment.
Association of Inspectors General leader David McClintock’s organization works to establish standards and best practices for inspectors general offices across the nation. He advised Atlanta City Council finance committee members Thursday morning to reject the proposed charter amendment before voicing added support for Manigault during the Friday night town hall downtown.
McClintock said he’s used to seeing elected officials push back when cities create new inspector general offices, but the resistance he’s seen in Atlanta is “pretty severe.” He complained about being limited to roughly five minutes of speaking time during Friday’s Finance Committee meeting to explain why the proposed charter amendment outlining the OIG’s powers would undermine efforts to combat corruption.
“Leave the existing ordinance alone and engage with the inspector general herself to find out what needs to be incorporated to allow her to do her job better, lawfully, but more efficiently and [effectively],” McClintock said.
