Ever since the new term of the Marietta City Council began in January there has been more drama among its members than at any point in the recent history of this large Atlanta suburb. There have been instances of a councilman yelling “screw you” to another member and storming out of a meeting, an alleged assault after a separate event and allegations of “racism.” But perhaps the ugliest moment yet occurred at the most recent Council meeting.
On August 30 an event was held for the many donors who had given money for the construction of the new Elizabeth Porter Park in the historically black Baptistown neighborhood of Marietta. During the reception, Councilman Reginald “Gamechanger” Copeland became outraged that he was not listed on the program to speak. Although the event was for the donors, and the city was having an official ribbon cutting the next day, Copeland contested that he should’ve been able to speak at the event since the new park was in his district and he grew up in the neighborhood.
Copeland sought out the city’s communications director Lindsey Wiles, and allegedly began to verbally berate her for leaving him off the event program. Wiles tried to explain to Copeland what was going on, but he didn’t want to hear it. He eventually commandeered the microphone and basically made statements that the event was all about him.
On September 4 Wiles filed an official ethics complaint against Copeland saying that he acted aggressively towards her and told her to “improve at her job.” In the complaint, Wiles also said she felt unsafe being by herself in her office after hours if Copeland was working in the council’s workroom at City Hall. However, there was a major issue with the complaint: Wiles doesn’t live in the city limits of Marietta, and the city’s ordinance pertaining to ethics violations by elected officials can only be submitted by city residents.
At the last council meeting, members debated amending the ordinance to allow any individual to file an ethics complaint against an elected official. The measure failed because it needed to be a unanimous vote to pass, and of course Copeland was the sole “no” vote. But it is expected to pass at next week’s meeting when the second reading requires only a simple majority.
Copeland’s night, though, was far from over. He then started a 45-minute filibuster on why the Council needed a retreat with a professional facilitator to train the group on equality and diversity. He proceeded to call two other Council members “racist” for remarks made to the Marietta Daily Journal after his actions at the donor event, and then he made a race issue about his request for a restraining order against Councilman Andy Morris for assault. Copeland said he was in fear for his life during the alleged attack– but the entire case was thrown out.
Copeland also charged the system was “racist” because everybody seemed to be “targeting a black man that was trying to break up the status quo,” and that nobody else on the Council was being reprimanded for their bad behavior.
Yet the two other black Council members, Cheryl Richardson and Michelle Cooper Kelly, pushed back against Copeland saying they were upset and offended that he would use the race card. They said that they have never felt discriminated against, nor have they discriminated against him. Richardson interrupted Copeland during another speech in the meeting in which he was not talking about the agenda item on hand. When Copeland called for “order,” Richardson responded by saying “Oh now you want order after you yell at everybody and act unethical.”
Insiders fear Marietta’s previously smooth-running and collegial mayor/Council government will continue to be disrupted by “Gamechanger” Copeland.
Rosser Southerland of Marietta is an InsiderAdvantage contributor
