Potential resolution reached in Cochran ethics case

Thursday, October 5, 2023–5:56 p.m.

-John Bailey, Rome News-Tribune-

This story is possible because of a news-sharing agreement with the Rome News-Tribune. More information can be found at northwestgeorgianews.com

Mark Cochran

A potential resolution has been reached that would dismiss an ethics complaint filed against Rome City Commissioner Mark Cochran. 

The complaint, filed in March, was set to be the first test of an ethics ordinance adopted by the City of Rome 20 years ago. However, in that initial run, the process has suffered a number of issues. 

In essence, the complaint filed by the city’s human resources director cites Cochran’s behavior, which she describes as ridicule of city staff members and departments that was “uncalled for and unprofessional.”

She also alludes to potential conflicts of interest in her complaint.

Among those are accusations that at least one city commissioner, Bill Collins, attempted to interfere in the process; an Open Meetings Act violation during the initial meeting; a challenge to the process still awaiting a hearing in Superior Court; and the resignations of all three mayors who were empaneled to hear the case.

Discussions among city commissioners concerning the complaint exposed significant political and racial divides where Cochran, who is often a neutral party on the commission, was referred to as “the fifth vote” in a heated May 22 caucus meeting.

In that meeting, commissioners referred to the split between Republican-leaning White commissioners and Democratic-leaning Black commissioners — and that Cochran’s vote was the key to allowing Mayor Sundai Stevenson to cast the fifth, tie-breaking, vote in contentious issues. The commission is technically nonpartisan. The most recent example was a decision on Rome Middle School bonds that passed by a 5-4 vote.

That’s not to mention the attorney hired by the city quitting and, when outlining the reasons, stating that commissioners’ behavior was “totally unacceptable, unprofessional and without justification” after another verbal battle royale during the July 10 caucus concerning the allegations.

Other challenges have included the actual cost to hire an attorney to represent the city in the matter as well as an investigation conducted by an outside attorney prior to the initial complaint being filed.

No details concerning the proposed resolution agreement were available as of press time Thursday. 

If both parties agree to dismiss the complaint without financial terms — Cochran has spoken about a significant out of pocket cost to hire an attorney — then the matter is dropped. If there is a financial aspect to the resolution, then it would go before the city commission for a vote to approve or deny. 

Even if that complaint is dismissed, it would leave two complaints filed against city commissioners still unresolved. On Sept. 20, Floyd GOP Chair Jamie Palmer filed an ethics complaint against Mayor Sundai Stevenson and, on Sept. 27, Ken Wright filed an ethics complaint against Commissioner Collins. 

The process for resolving both of those complaints has begun.

City Clerk Joe Smith said they will seek to empanel a group of three mayors or council chairs from nearby municipalities to hear the charges. Those mayors would then serve over a quasi-judicial process to first determine if the charges should move to a full hearing or be summarily dismissed.

Smith said they will choose the names of the mayors at random, likely during Monday’s city commission meeting. 

The complaint against Collins states that since Collins’ wife, Faith Collins, is the chair of the Rome Board of Education he should not participate in any vote concerning the school system.

The complaint filed against Stevenson centers around the fact that she held a notary license in Gordon County during her tenure as a Rome commissioner. 

A polling of current city commissioners at a recent candidate debate showed that a majority of them don’t feel that either complaint, against Collins or Stevenson, has merit. That carries weight because ultimately the city commission is the body that determines the punishment for one of their members found to have violated the ethics ordinance.