Jury To Hear Roswell Mayor Term Limit Lawsuit

Sign up for the Roswell Patch newsletter!

---

Roswell, GA -- A Fulton County jury next month will hear the case of a citizen who contends Roswell Mayor Jere Wood’s tenure in office is in direct conflict with the City Charter.

A jury trial to consider the case of Michael Litten vs. Jere Wood will be heard at 10 a.m. Monday, March 7 in courtroom 5E at the Fulton County Courthouse.

In December, Litten filed a lawsuit, contending Wood violated the city’s charter when he decided to seek a fifth, four-year term as mayor in 2013.

The City Council in January approved a resolution requesting the Georgia General Assembly modify the city’s charter to reflect the limits would be applied towards future service, not retrospectively.

In a letter dated Feb. 19, Assistant City Attorney Bob Hulsey wrote to legislators who represent Roswell requesting they enact a resolution amending Section Ch. 3.50 to say: “No person may hold the office of mayor of the city of Roswell for more than two (2) consecutive full terms, provided that no elected terms served prior to 2017 shall be counted towards such limits and that this enactment shall be prospective in nature and limit only future consecutive full terms of the office of mayor.”

Hulsey states the intention of the Council in 2010 was to impose term limits that would be applied to future years in office. Additionally, the Council’s initial request set a limit of three consecutive terms.

“To give full effect of that intention, the proposed change reduces that limit to two terms to account for the term of the mayor that began in 2013,” Hulsey adds. ”By enacting the a new law in the form proposed, the General Assembly does not alter its previous Act, yet it honors the request made by the Roswell City Council in January of this year.”

---

Image via Shutterstock