Documents Confirm Ordinance 1455 Was Pulled Before Vote — And a Council Member Had Concerns From the Start

CONYERS CHARTER INVESTIGATION | Part 2 of 6

Records obtained by CJ Lester Investigates through two Open Records Requests reveal that the City of Conyers quietly removed its charter amendment ordinance from the October 15, 2025 council agenda before a final vote was ever taken — and that concerns had surfaced among council members as early as the day it was first introduced.

Ordinance 1455, which would have replaced the city's entire municipal charter, passed its first reading on October 1, 2025 under then-Mayor G. Vincent Evans, Jr. The second and final vote was scheduled for October 15.

It never happened.

According to the October 15 council meeting minutes, City Manager Kameron Kelley called for Ordinance 1455 to be removed from the agenda. Council Member Gerald Hinesley made the motion. Council Member Charlie Bryant seconded. All members present voted in favor. The item appears in the official minutes under Old Business followed by a single line: "This item was removed from the agenda."

City Attorney Carrie Bootcheck confirmed in a written response to CJ Lester Investigates this week that the reason traces back to October 1. She stated that the City Manager received information that a council member had concerns about the charter amendment that day, and that she sought outside legal guidance to advise the mayor on how to handle any voting scenarios. Bootcheck did not identify which council member had concerns or what those concerns were, citing attorney-client privilege.

The city also withheld all communications between Bootcheck and any council member in response to a records request, citing the same privilege.

Meanwhile, at least one state legislator was being briefed on the charter changes the day before the scheduled vote. Records show Councilwoman Valyncia Smith emailed the charter agenda packet to State Representative Doreen Carter at 5:17 AM on October 14. That same morning the city's lobbyist, Tom Gehl of Civic Forward Strategies, asked City Clerk Nicole Holsomback to add Rep. Carter to a Teams meeting about the charter. Holsomback confirmed Carter was added.

Bootcheck confirmed Gehl became involved when local state delegates reached out to him but did not identify which delegates.

After the ordinance was pulled the city held a public town hall on November 5, 2025. Rep. Carter attended. Mayor Evans followed up with a formal letter to Carter on November 12 announcing the charter revision was being paused until the January 2026 council retreat.

Comment requests have been submitted to Mayor Alsobrook, Rep. Carter, and Rep. Taylor. Bootcheck responded this week. A sit down interview with former Mayor Evans is scheduled for next week.

This is Part 2 of an ongoing series.