College Park firings bring accusations of political power play, maneuverings

Staff terminations at College Park City Hall continued last week after the firing of former city manager Dr. Emmanuel Adediran. 

Rose Stewart, the former director of Human Resources and Risk Management, and Jerry Silver, a former Code Enforcement supervisor, said they believe their firings are tied to Councilman Roderick Gay. 

The revolving door of staff at city hall raises ongoing questions about transparency and whether political power is being used to carry out personal or political agendas. Allegations of retaliation, pressure to bend the rules, and the recent vote to name the city’s 32-acre botanical garden after Gay are cited by the two former employees.

Stewart and Silver were fired unexpectedly on May 20. The day after, Adediran was abruptly terminated during a city council meeting. Stewart and Silver said three other staffers were also fired.

Silver described an unusual working environment at city hall. According to Silver, Gay repeatedly ordered him to issue citations and separately board up properties that had no current code violations. Silver said he refused to carry out the directives. 

“I can’t go against my principles for anybody,” he added. “He stays at city hall all the time telling people what to do.”

One occurrence involved five houses on Hershel Road, owned by a single individual who had already addressed previous citations, Silver said. But Gay wanted the properties to be boarded, Silver said, adding that his direct supervisor confirmed that there was no justification for boarding up the homes.

Silver claims Gay pressured him in private meetings with the city attorney and once ordered Silver’s supervisor to leave the room so he could give direct instructions. “He told me he could fire me if I didn’t do what he wanted me to do,” Silver said.

Silver said he was hired by College Park two years ago and is retired from DeKalb County Code Compliance Administration. 

Roderick Gay Botanical Garden

SaportaReport did not receive a return email from College Park spokesman Bill Crane. Gay’s only response to SaportaReport’s attempts to talk with him about the allegations came via text. He wrote, “I don’t do negative news. Report [on] the historical botanical garden.”

During the May 19 council meeting in which Adediran was fired, the Council approved the naming of Roderick Gay Botanical Garden. Gay himself brought forth the measure. 

College Park plans to spend $5.4 million to create the garden located at 4300 Hershel Road, at the former Camp Truitt site.

Stewart believes the vote to approve naming the garden after Gay may have been connected to Adediran’s firing and the shakeup at city hall.

Gay was agreeable to Adediran’s firing and would vote in favor if he received the votes for the garden moniker, Stewart said. 

Gay and Councilwoman Tracie Arnold voted in approval of the city manager’s firing. Councilmembers Jamelle McKenzie and Joe Carn opposed it. Mayor Bianca Motley Broom cast the deciding vote to remove Adediran.

But in the case of naming the garden, there was no tie-breaker. It was a 2-1 vote in favor of placing Gay’s name on the garden. He and Arnold voted in approval, while Carn abstained despite a prolonged comment on why he thought it would be inappropriate for the destination to be named Roderick Gay Botanical Garden. 

Tensions and Discord

Both Stewart and Silver said they had a positive working relationship with Adediran. 

Stewart was hired in October, she said, after previously working in the same role with the city from 2013-2017. Last week, she was called into a room and told by Adediran’s replacement, Lindell Miller, that she was being terminated. No reason was given, Stewart said.

She believes her termination stemmed from a perceived tension with the mayor. Stewart suspects Motley Broom associates her with Councilwoman McKenzie. 

Stewart and McKenzie are neighbors and police chaplains, and both are affiliated with Ignite College Park Resource Center, Stewart said. 

The mayor declined to comment.

Discord among city officials intensified in January 2024 when Council approved new ordinances that limited the mayor’s ability to speak during meetings. 

At different times, councilmembers McKenzie, Carn, and Gay have directed sharp criticism or heated remarks towards the mayor during public meetings — though those type of comments and efforts to limit her speaking have lessened in recent months. 

Motley Broom was not in favor of Adediran’s hiring as permanent city manager last September or the process of considering other candidates.

Adediran began serving in an interim role after the firing and quick re-hiring of former manager Stanley Hawthorne, who was terminated as he was preparing to resign in early 2024.

College Park agreed to pay Hawthorne nearly $140,000 for their mistake. 

At the time of Adediran’s promotion to the permanent position, some perceived him as a manager who solely carried out the wishes of the four council members. 

While serving as interim city manager, he was heavily criticized for adding a controversial rezoning item for a lithium-ion battery storage facility to a city council agenda without a public hearing, public notice, or even an address with more information. The item was accompanied by a $1.6 million payment to College Park from NextEra Energy Resources, which owns the property.

Stewart and Silver said they viewed Adediran as a manager who was fair and adhered to rules and legality. 

“He always told us that ‘as long as you’re doing things legally, you don’t have to worry about your job,'” Silver said.