Second Lawsuit Filed Against Cumming Mayor by Roswell Resident

Cumming Mayor H. Ford Gravitt is now facing a second lawsuit filed by Roswell resident Nydia Tisdale for violating Georgia's Open Meetings Act.

Tisdale has retained the Atlanta law offices of Attorney Gerry Weber, according to a press release.

The latest Compliant filed on Tuesday, June 12, comes one week later  for the same violation.

The lawsuit also names the "city of Cumming, Police Chief Casey Tatum, individually and in his official capacity, and Deputy Police Chief Walter Cook, individually."

Read both Complaints in the PDF file to the right.

Tisdale is seeking an order protecting the rights of citizens to attend and record Cumming City Council meetings, damages, and civil penalties under Georgia’s Open Meetings Act, the press release stated.

The controversy stems from an incident that occurred during a city council meeting on April 17. The event caught on video by Roswell resident Nydia Tisdale shows Mayor Gravitt beginning the meeting, but first ordering Tisdale to turn off her video camera.

But her video camera was still recording – enough to capture Mayor Gravitt saying, "First of all, a little house cleaning. if you would remove the camera from the auditorium. We don't allow filming inside the city hall here."

"The Mayor’s actions were a blatant violation of citizens' constitutional rights to record public meetings," said Weber in the press release. "What’s more, as the Attorney General's lawsuit emphasizes, the Georgia’s Open Meetings Act also ensures a citizen’s right to attend and record public meetings. Citizens should be encouraged to attend and participate in government, not dragged out for documenting what is going on."

On Saturday, June 9, the Attorney General visited Cumming and was the guest speaker at the regular monthly meeting of the Forsyth County GOP. During that meeting Olens said he was "personally offended" , according to the press release.

"I was also personally offended when Mayor Gravitt instructed Police Chief Tatum to do some "housecleaning" and remove my camera without even addressing me — as if I were debris to be discarded from council chambers," Tisdale stated in the press release.

"It’s disturbing that no one dared to challenge the Mayor of 42 years inside City Hall. I am pleased the Attorney General is taking this matter very seriously. I take a stand not only for myself, but for all citizens who have a right to know about their government."

As of this writing, phones call to Dana Miles, city attorney and Gerald Blackburn, city administrator, have not been returned.

In an e-mail to Cumming Patch, Tisdale stated, "City Attorney Dana B. Miles was contacted today, June 13, via e-mail by Attorney Gerry Weber."