By Sam Kohn
Chattanooga Times Free Press, Tenn.
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COHUTTA, Ga. — After nearly a month of drama in Cohutta, Georgia, Mayor Ron Shinnick has resigned from his position.
Shinnick submitted a written letter of resignation Friday to City Attorney Bryan Rayburn. The resignation has been acknowledged by Cohutta leaders, according to a press release from the town.
Shinnick had been the mayor of Cohutta, an 800-person community in North Georgia, for 12 years.
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The Town Council will immediately begin the process of filling the vacant seat with an interim mayor. The press release does not say when the interim mayor will be chosen.
On April 21, six members of the Cohutta Police Department and a former jailer signed an open letter regarding issues with Pam Shinnick, who has served as town clerk and is also the mayor’s wife. The open letter claimed that the town clerk had a history of creating a hostile work environment and said the officers were “concerned that elected officials, including the mayor and council, have failed to take appropriate action after being notified of the issue.”
Mayor Shinnick dissolved the entire Police Department in the early morning of May 6. This followed a press conference in which town leaders — including the mayor and police department — spoke on their plans to move forward from the open letter about the town clerk. Randy Stanton, a Town Council member, said he was notified about the decision to dissolve the Police Department after it was already made.
This left the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office responsible for law enforcement in the town.
Cohutta council members voted to reinstate the Police Department on May 8 at an emergency meeting. The rest of the meeting agenda, including further action regarding the mayor, was tabled for a later date.
On May 12, Cohutta’s council held its regularly scheduled monthly meeting, where council members decided not vote on anything and opened the floor for public comment on the preceding weeks of drama. Ron Shinnick and Vice Mayor Shane Kornberg were both absent from the meeting.
An emergency Town Council meeting will take place at 6 p.m. May 20 at Cohutta Town Hall, according to the press release.
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Compiled by Sam Kohn
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