The mayor of Blythe resigned Thursday after the city council voted 3-2 to replace city attorney Chris Dube.
Curt St. Germaine, mayor for just over a year, said in a letter of resignation he is stepping down only “for personal reasons” but elaborated on the decision in a Facebook post.
“Last night was a perfect example of council members (who) should not bring their personal agenda to a meeting,” St. Germaine said. “Councilman (Ed) LaJoie and myself voted to keep our lawyer, while the others voted to fire our city attorney because of their personal reasons.”
St. Germaine would not elaborate on the members’ agendas, but the former police officer said he was concerned about other actions the group might take, such as interfering with the town’s new police chief.
Dube, who works as the Grovetown city attorney, “told you what the law was, not what you wanted to hear,” St. Germaine said to council members.
MORE: Augusta could lose its ambulance service
Former Blythe Mayor Brent Weir said he was sad for his former town and attempted to convince St. Germaine not to resign. Weir said part of the mayor’s difficulty stems from the 3-2 city council gridlock, which led to Dube’s departure and has its way on nearly all council actions.
The town of approximately 745 on the Richmond-Burke County line has its share of controversy. Last year, Councilman Noel Cartagena was arrested for assaulting former Blythe police officer Gabriel Mendez, but the case has not moved forward. The council had fired Mendez for lying on his resume, but former Blythe Police Chief Rick Worman disputed the termination.
A year earlier, Councilwoman Judy Cordova called on Gov. Brian Kemp to suspend Councilman Daniel Martin until his vote-buying case is resolved, but Martin remains in office. Cordova, Martin and Cartagena now comprise the three-vote majority that voted Dube out.
Martin is accused of bribing a young man with beer and cigarettes in 2018 to vote for Phillip Stewart for mayor. Stewart was declared the winner, but candidate Cynthia Parham filed a lawsuit, alleging Stewart’s vote total was illegitimate due to Martin’s alleged bribe and votes by nonresidents. The Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the trial court’s ruling that Parham hadn’t proven enough votes were improper.
MORE: Stay. Social gets more time to appeal ruling
The state elections board referred the allegations against Martin to the Georgia Attorney General, while Martin’s local criminal case is pending. The case was transferred over to Columbia County District Attorney Bobby Christine last July because it’s one of several in which Augusta Circuit District Attorney Jared Williams served as defense attorney.
The Blythe council called for a special election to replace St. Germaine on March 21. Candidate qualifying is typically held several weeks prior to the election but the dates are unknown.
Susan McCord is a staff writer with The Augusta Press. Reach her at susan@theaugustapress.com
