NAACP collecting signatures for petition and organizing to vote out Columbus Councilors
The Columbus branch of the NAACP has started a petition calling for an investigation into whether Columbus Council members violated the Georgia Open Meetings Act, and organizers promised in a news conference Monday to vote councilors out of office.
This news conference came a day before Councilor John Anker of District 9, who was appointed to the council in a controversial 6-3 vote, was set to attend his first meeting as a citywide councilor.
Members of the NAACP represented at the news conference want investigators to determine whether a quorum of the council broke state law by communicating about potential replacements for former Councilor Judy Thomas, who resigned March 11 due to medical reasons.
If a quorum of councilors privately met to discuss city business, whether in-person, by text or email, then they broke state law, says a March 19 news release from the NAACP.
This move by the NAACP comes after former Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson mentioned a potential Open Meetings Act violation during her March 14 news conference, defending city manager Isaiah Hugley and questioning the council’s process to appoint Thomas’ successor.
“At the core of our concerns is the trust of the people — a trust that we must build an open communication on transparency.,” Melvin Tanner Jr., president of the Columbus NAACP, said during Monday’s news conference. “Today, we stand here to demand accountability and to ensure that those who represent us are doing so with honesty and integrity.”
They recently presented Columbus Mayor Skip Henderson with a letter urging him to request the Georgia Attorney General conduct an investigation, Tanner said.
Henderson is looking into whether there is any material evidence suggesting Columbus Councilors violated state law, he told the Ledger-Enquirer on Friday.
Anytime a citizen requests for the city to look into something, they will do it, Henderson said. If any evidence is found in his probe, he said, then it will be forwarded to the attorney general.
During the same meeting in which Thomas resigned, the council voted 6-3 to appoint Anker as her replacement. Anker lost the 2022 mayoral election to Henderson and the 2024 District 10 citywide council election to Travis Chambers.
The motion was approved despite Henderson warning against voting so quickly and with no other candidates publicly being considered.
Anker was rejected by voters, appointed and sworn in under the “cover of darkness,” Ed DuBose, national NAACP board member and the Georgia state administrator, said during the news conference.
“You cannot subvert the will of the voters,” DuBose said. “When you do that, you are operating like wolves in sheep clothing.”
The race for the District 10 citywide seat was very close (53.51%-46.49% in a runoff), Councilor Glenn Davis of District 2 told the Ledger-Enquirer in a March 18 email.
“As a Councilor, I’m proud to say a tremendous amount of citizens cast their votes in favor of two candidates that, in reality, either one could’ve won,” Davis said. “One side was happy their candidate won, and the second best candidate now gets the opportunity to represent the other half of the electoral vote.”
This decision to appoint Anker lacked transparency, says the NAACP’s news release.
“We are shown one thing, and we are told another,” the Rev. Johnny Flakes III of Fourth Street Missionary Baptist Church said during the news conference.
The group plans to organize and vote out councilors, DuBose said. Councilors are supposed to represent the people who put them in power and not their own interests, said Lucas Melton of the NAACP Political Action Committee.
“We have folks who came with Black Lives Matter,” he said, “and they left with MAGA, and we don’t understand why.”
Anker, who is white, has been outspoken in his criticism of Hugley, who is Black. This is a strategy that has been used to oust Black people from leadership positions across the country, Flakes said in a March 12 news conference.
“We do have recourse,” Melton said. “In 2026, we will be voting our interest, and we will remove people from office who do not listen to their people. That being said, it’s a no for Anker. Bye-bye Byron. Time to go, Toyia.”
Councilors Byron Hickey of District 1 and Toyia Tucker of District 4 are the Black councilors who voted to appoint Anker.
Hickey of District 1 made the motion to appoint Anker, and Councilor Charmaine Crabb of District 5 seconded it. Hickey, Crabb, Davis, Tucker, Joanne Cogle of District 7 and Walker Garrett of District 8 voted yes. Chambers, Bruce Huff of District 3 and Mayor Pro Tem Gary Allen of District 6 voted no.
Columbus Council was set to convene again at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. Prior to the meeting, there were 27 residents scheduled to speak during the public agenda portion of the meeting. Topics range from concerns about transparency, support for Hugley and dissatisfaction in Anker’s appointment.
“If you disagree with what is going on in our city, among our city councils, then we ask that you will come and make your voice, your presence known.” Flakes said.
This story was originally published March 24, 2025 at 6:30 PM.
