A 23-year-old Georgia mayor has been booted from office after a nearly 10-hour hearing exposed sexually suggestive messages with an 18-year-old high school student and allegations that he misused thousands of dollars in city funds.
Jayden Williams, who became the youngest mayor in Stockbridge history after taking office in January, was removed Saturday night in a 3-0 vote by the City Council.
The dramatic ouster came after an independent investigation into Williams’ conduct and a marathon public hearing where attorneys questioned him about explicit messages, city credit card purchases and his use of a government vehicle.
Williams has not been criminally charged in connection with the allegations.
At the center of the hearing were messages exchanged with an 18-year-old high school student who reportedly approached Williams looking for mentorship and an opportunity to get involved in local government.
According to messages presented during the hearing, Williams initially told the student he would make him one of his mentees.
But the conversation later became sexual.
City attorney Robert Ashe questioned Williams about messages discussing the student’s sexual history and exchanges involving explicit photos and videos sent through Instagram’s disappearing-message feature.
At one point, Williams allegedly wrote in capital letters that the exchanges should remain between them.
Williams acknowledged during questioning that some of the images exchanged were explicit, although he said he could not remember whether he sent nude photos of himself or received nude photos of the student.
When pressed about why he could not remember, Williams said sending and receiving such material was not unusual for someone his age at the time.
The messages began in December, before Williams was formally sworn in as mayor.
Williams’ attorney has emphasized that point, arguing that the city failed to show sexual misconduct while Williams was actually serving in office.
The city raised another concern during the hearing: the teenager had initially approached Williams for mentorship, and their conversations also included possible job opportunities.
That combination troubled city officials.
The hearing did not stop with the messages.
Williams was also grilled about thousands of dollars in spending on city-issued cards.
According to evidence discussed during the proceeding, the city alleged Williams placed more than $4,000 in personal expenses on a government purchasing card and accumulated more than $2,600 in fuel-card charges while using a city vehicle.
Purchases raised during questioning included meals, haircuts, clothing, a Lyft ride and a movie outing.
Williams said some personal charges were accidental and had been reimbursed, while he maintained that other expenses were connected to official city business.
One particularly damaging exchange came when Williams acknowledged that he had never read the city’s purchasing and ethics policy.
Williams said he had not been given a copy and had asked for the information he needed after being elected.
His attorney Robert Kenner argued that the 23-year-old received inadequate training after taking office and that mistakes or misunderstandings did not justify removing an elected mayor.
“We concede that he could have asked more questions,” Kenner told the council, while arguing there was a difference between misunderstanding city rules and conduct serious enough to warrant removal.
The Stockbridge ethics code applies to elected officials, including the mayor, and is intended in part to provide standards for disciplining officials who fail to follow its requirements.
The hearing itself had already become contentious before Saturday.
Councilwoman Lakeshia Gantt was barred from taking part in the panel after a hearing officer found concerns about potential bias.
Judge Gino Brogdon cited an email in which Gantt told Williams she could be his “friend or your enemy,” as well as her contact with Williams’ family while the investigation was underway.
Brogdon said those actions went beyond a proper investigative role and concluded the process could not be considered fair if she remained on the panel.
That decision did not ultimately save Williams.
After hours of testimony and an executive session, the remaining council members voted to remove him.
Kenner blasted the proceedings afterward, calling the process a “witch hunt” and saying some council members appeared to have already decided Williams’ fate.
He has also suggested the mayor’s age and sexuality played a role in the scrutiny Williams received. Williams is gay.
“I think that certain minds on the council were already made up,” Kenner said following the vote.
Kenner has indicated that Williams is considering legal options to challenge the removal.
He also said a decision had not yet been made on whether Williams could attempt a political comeback by running in a special election.
Williams was elected at age 22 and had served roughly nine months before his removal.
He was spotted clearing out his City Hall office after the vote but declined to speak publicly about the decision.
On social media, however, Williams appeared to signal that he had no plans to disappear from public life, posting a photograph with the message “Still on the move.”
The stunning fall comes less than a year after Williams’ historic election made him one of the youngest municipal leaders in Georgia.
Now, instead of finishing his first term, Williams could be preparing for a court fight over whether the council had grounds to remove him.
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