Two area mayors are helping decide whether Thomson mayor Benji Cranford should be suspended from office.
A few months into his first term, the road construction company owner was accused of leaving a fifth of gin for inmates working along Cobbham Road in the city limits of Thomson June 3.
Cranford, 52, was arrested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation after an Aug. 14 city council meeting, according to prior reports. He has denied knowledge of the incident to area media and is represented by Augusta attorney John Bell.
The mayors asked by Gov. Brian Kemp to assist the Georgia Attorney General with reviewing the GBI case are Grovetown Mayor Gary Jones and Harlem Mayor Roxanne Whitaker.
The review commission will determine whether Cranford’s indictment “relates to and adversely affects” his performance of mayoral duties, to an extent “that the rights and interests of the public are adversely affected,” according to Kemp’s Sept. 9 order.
Working with AG Chris Carr or one of his deputies, Jones and Whitaker are expected to make a written report on the incident that includes a recommendation about whether Cranford should be suspended from office.
Jones said the commission won’t speak about any specifics until Kemp makes a ruling on Cranford’s status.
“What we’re going to have to do is evaluate the indictment and decide whether or not the law is clear enough to say whether or not he should be suspended or not suspended,” Jones, a former police chief, said.
“We’re going to do our due diligence as appointees to make the right decision,” he said.
The commission looks only at the alleged crime’s relevance to the mayor’s office and not Cranford’s guilt or innocence, he said.
Three years ago in a similar situation, two area county commissioners served on the panel that recommended former Augusta Commissioner Sammie Sias be suspended from office.
Sias was accused of destroying evidence in a probe of sales tax spending. He is now wrapping up what was a 30-month prison sentence.
Cranford is accused of driving to a nearby liquor store to purchase gin for the inmates, then leaving it in a ditch for them. A prison warden asked Thomson police to look into the incident.
It’s unclear what sort of work the inmates were doing, but most road and right-of-way projects are funded using public dollars, while Cranford’s firms have been heavily involved in road construction projects.
Cranford’s first term has been marked by multiple incidents since he was elected in an upset against longtime mayor Kenneth Usry last year.
His residency was challenged last year after he gave a business property address, the former Bank of Thomson, as permanent residence. He’s also had creditors and vendors sue for millions in unpaid bills for equipment and services.
Kemp’s order said the commission’s report is due within 15 days. In business days, that would make it due Friday.
The criminal case is being prosecuted by the Toombs Circuit District Attorney.
