White Street Landfill: "City Attorney Rita Danish was researching on Tuesday afternoon whether at-large Councilman Robbie Perkins and District 3 Councilman Zack Matheny have a conflict of interest and should recuse themselves from the vote." Do we have a crisis?

"Perkins’ commercial real estate company, NAI Piedmont Triad,
is representing property for DH Griffin,
part of the Gate City Waste Services group, near its headquarters on Hilltop Road.

Matheny’s company, Bell Partners, has an investment partnership with DH Griffin in Atlanta.

Perkins and Matheny remained on the dais during the work session.

Matheny stayed silent, while Perkins asked questions.

“[If I can speak,] that means I can taint the process, I can guide the process,
I can lead the process all the way up to the finish line;
I’m just not carrying the ball across the goal mark,” Matheny said.
“I don’t feel it’s appropriate for me to sit here and guide this process although I can’t vote on it.”

Assistant City Attorney James Dickens told Matheny:
“The only requirement with regard to a member being excused for a conflict of interest
is during a vote.

Really?

Prior to that, they are free to interact, to participate in any work session in this case.”

Asked by Wade why Vaughan had leave the work session, Dickens responded,
“Ms. Vaughan chose to excuse herself, which she can do.”

After the meeting, Vaughan said that, in fact, she had not left the work session by choice.

She said that former City Attorney Terry Wood and Deputy City Attorney Becky Jo Peterson-Buie
told her “that I was not to take part in any discussion
and that I should remove myself from the discussion.

That was not my choice.

I was following the law.

Really.

I did sit down with Terry to make sure that what I was doing was in compliance.

I believe that if I participated in any way, shape or form it would open the city council up to a lawsuit."

Who is more right: Wood, Buie or Dick?

Vaughan said she was angry to learn that others participated in the work session,
while she has scrupulously avoided any conflict of interest.

If Nancy should get some congrats for doing the right thing,

who should be centured?

“If there is a question of, is there a conflict,
they certainly should have not participated in this,” Vaughan said.

Really?

“If they did, it would taint the process.

If Robbie recuses himself from a zoning decision,
he’s not able to sit up there and ask questions.”"

Really.

Jordan