Mayor Lee Stuart says he’s not finished fighting the Stockbridge city council after its members voted to kick him out of office

Stuart and his attorney plan to appeal the 4-1 vote.

Security was beefed up for Monday night’s special hearing that lasted more than nine hours.  Stuart was immediately asked to leave the council chambers after the vote.

“I’ve always said this is a continuation of the kangaroo system. This is just a good old boy system,” Stuart said after the decision. “I’ve done nothing wrong. I believe in the judicial system and I’ll be vindicated in the end.”

“We’re not surprised at all by the result,” said Stuart’s attorney, Joseph Cloud who says he was given little time to prepare for the case and the city refused to pay Stuart’s legal fees.

The hearing drew a large crowd to the council chambers, many coming in support of the mayor they elected.  Some wore white T-shirts that said “Keep Calm and Keep Mayor Lee Stuart.”

“I don’t agree with a lot of what he’s done but it shouldn’t be up to the council who is also accusing him (of the charges to remove him). They can’t be judge and jury,” said resident Sahar Hekmati, 13th District Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party.

Stuart supporter and resident Sheila Bradley called the proceedings “one of the stupidest things I’ve ever seen in my life.”

The city hired Atlanta attorney Christopher Balch to investigate nearly two dozen allegations and complaints from citizens and city employees.

“He repeatedly violated the City Charter,” said Balch.

Balch said he conducted more than 17 interviews and sorted through 2,000 pages of documents to reach the recommendation that Stuart be removed from office.

Councilman Alphonso Thomas was the lone member to oppose all seven charges against Stuart.

“I did not endorse this,” Thomas said. “I’m not in favor of removing the mayor. The citizens of Stockbridge elected this mayor as well as this council. I do not think the citizens are in agreement with the investigation let alone the removal of an elected official that citizens elected. The allegations that were made I do not think warrant the removal of this mayor.”

The allegations ranged from monitoring workers' emails, to creating a hostile workplace for city workers, to compromising sensitive information about the municipal complex’s security system and sharing personal information about a city officer at a public meeting.