DeKalb County

Stonecrest leader says she was forced out after questioning mayor's salary request

By Tom Jones, WSB-TV
By Tom Jones, WSB-TV

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A City Council member in the new city of Stonecrest said she was forced out as mayor pro tem when she questioned the mayor’s request for a raise.

Diane Adoma is considering asking a judge to decide if she was illegally removed from her position.

“I definitely ruffled some feathers,” she said. “I voted for some things that I was asked to cast my vote another way.”

Adoma said she also questioned Mayor Jason Lary’s voting power and was very vocal about not supporting an effort to raise the mayor’s annual salary to $85,000.

“Because these are service jobs. He knew that the job was $20,000,” she said.

Adoma said soon after voicing her concerns, she was removed from her mayor pro tem position, even though she was serving a two-year term.

“I have a right to be in that seat,” she said.

TRENDING STORIES:

Lary did not want to discuss the proposed salary increase, but he told Channel 2’s Tom Jones the charter gave the council the right to choose a new mayor pro tem after the November notification.

“I nominated Diane Adoma for mayor pro tem. She rejected my nomination,” he said.

Adoma responded by saying, “Mr. Mayor, I don’t need a nomination. I am serving a two-year term.”

Stonecrest resident Faye Coffield said the confusion led her to file an ethics complaint against the mayor and some council members. She said she wasn’t happy about the proposed salary increase.

“You know, you get paid for what you do and I don’t see anything he did but try and bring us another Popeyes,” she said.

The city attorney told Jones it was his opinion that once someone is elected mayor pro tem, they should serve the full term.

Lary said the complaints are from people who are upset because they didn’t want a new city in the first place.

Cox Media Group

Most Read