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Comment by consumer activist on June 18, 2015 at 11:45am

Comment by consumer activist on June 18, 2015 at 11:43am

LETTER TO THE EDITOR PUBLISHED TODAY IN THE Marietta Daily Journal newspaper

Will Council ask Church to resign?

DEAR EDITOR:

On Monday, a Kennesaw resident asked a simple question at the City Council meeting. He wanted to know why the City Council had not asked for the resignation of Leonard Church due to his arrest a year ago on two child molestation charges and a subsequent arrest on four counts of sexual exploitation of a child. A total of six felony charges going back to 2006, with a possible sentence of 125 years.

Rather than getting any answer, he got some drivel about how Church was entitled to a ‘fair trial’ and from another person how the city could not force Church to resign.

No one I know, or have heard from, has even said anything about Church not getting a fair trial and we have acknowledged that he cannot be forced off the Council.

The question remains unanswered at that meeting and unanswered in my two communications on this topic with the four on Council.

Here it is again: “Why has the Council not asked Leonard Church to resign?”

As a follow up, I would then ask: “Will you now make that request?”

Bill Harris

Kennesaw

Comment by consumer activist on June 17, 2015 at 7:55am

WHO SUPPORTS CHURCH AT CITY?

1) The mayor,
2) Debbie Williams, Council Member
3) Jim Sebastian, Council Member

WHO WE HAVE NOT HEARD FROM:
1) Killingsworth, Council Member
2) Welsh, Council Member

For details see:  http://leonardchurch.blogspot.com/

Comment by consumer activist on June 16, 2015 at 12:50am

Kennesaw resident: Have you asked Church to quit?

by Hilary Butschek

June 16, 2015 12:01 AM

Staff-Hilary Butschek

KENNESAW — A resident asked City Council on Monday why Councilman Leonard Church, who was arrested last year on charges of child molestation, is still in office.

The council also debated the matter of eliminating their city benefits during the meeting.

Addressing the council, Kennesaw resident Anthony Depaola, an Army veteran and student at Georgia Highlands College, asked “Why has Mr. Church not resigned?”

Church was indicted on charges of aggravated child molestation, child molestation and four counts of sexual exploitation of children in January after police say a 7-year-old boy told his parents Church showed him pornographic materials on a computer and molested him.

A trial is expected to begin by the end of the year, District Attorney Vic Reynolds has said.

Church has declined to answer questions about the matter since his arrest on June 27, 2014.

Mayor Mark Mathews told Depaola he would answer all of his questions, but that he could not direct questions to Church.

“Have you asked him to resign?” Depaola asked. “It looks like to me that you guys are in full support of this. For someone to sit there and make daily decisions for our city that has been charged of this kind of thing is unacceptable.”

City attorney Randall Bentley said he has researched the laws related to a council member resigning at the City Council’s request. Council members must be found guilty of a felony charge that relates to the performance of their duty to be forced out of office, Bentley said.

“You think what he did has no effect on his job?” Depaola asked. “You guys are all morally OK with it? It’s just like life goes on as normal. Let’s sweep it under the rug like nothing ever happened.”

Mathews said he and the council don’t have the power to remove Church from office.

“There are no penalties that we can do to each other. We can’t do anything to each other,” Mathews said.

During the discussion, Church looked at Depaola, his head resting on his hand, no expression on his face.

Councilwoman Debra Williams also responded to Depaola’s comments.

“We can sit up here and judge everyone by our own moral standards. That doesn’t make it right. The man that sits to my right (Church) has his day in court. He has that right, and I will not take that right from him,” Williams said.

After the meeting, Kennesaw resident June Wick said she agreed with Williams.

“I believe everyone deserves their day in court,” Wick said.

Kennesaw resident Joe Bozeman said he also believes Church deserves to stay on the council until his trial.

“In my opinion, he has the duty to stay on the council,” Bozeman said.

Leonard Leroy Church, Kennesaw

A graduate of Sprayberry HS, Church has worked in the dental field for 45 years. He was first elected mayor of Kennesaw in 1999, serving 2 terms. He was elected to the City Council in Nov 2013 and took office in Jan 2014. Church was initially...

LEONARDCHURCH.BLOGSPOT.COM

Comment by consumer activist on June 15, 2015 at 1:36pm

My further comments on the matter are:

* Council member Church was arrested on 6/27/14 and he should have resigned his position on 6/28/14.

* The mayor and Council should have quietly asked Mr Church to resign, if he would not they should have asked him publicly.

* Should Councilman Church be acquitted he could run for Council or Mayor at the following election.

* I have looked into how to conduct a recall of a council member. It is not an easy task but if Mr
 Church still refuses to resign we can start that snowball rolling downhill.

* Kennesaw has had a series of press disasters recently. We had the Suffa Dawat  Mosque issue which got international bad publicity, before that we were the 'butt' of a jokes regarding our 'no smoking in parking lots or cemeteries' law. Now we will have a continuation of bad press reports about a Pedophile being on our Council a year after his arrests for Child Molestations.

* The mayor and Council do not have the authority to remove Council member Church, but they have the right and duty to ask him to resign.

Bill Harris, Kennesaw