Dawson Mayor Christopher Wright suspended from office

DAWSON — An executive order signed by Gov. Nathan Deal on Thursday resulted in the suspension Dawson Mayor Christopher Wright from office.

The order signed by Deal states that an executive order dated Sept. 14 permitted a review commission to determine whether a recent indictment of Wright “related to and adversely impacted the administration of the office of mayor.” A report dated Oct. 4 said the commission had determined unanimously that Wright should be suspended from office.

Wright was indicted in June on charges of aggravated child molestation, aggravated sodomy, rape, child molestation and statutory rape. Those charges were based on testimony in a child molestation investigation in February conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. And while Wright was not the subject of that investigation, the mayor was implicated by a victim interviewed during the investigation, who was 12 at the time of the alleged incident.

Based on the three-person review commission’s recommendation, Deal ordered Wright be suspended “immediately and without further action pending the final disposition of the (criminal) case (against Wright) or until the expiration of his term of office.”

Wright’s term is set to expire at the end of the year. He has qualified to seek re-election, and his opposition in the Nov. 8 election is Robert Albritten, who served as Dawson’s mayor for 32 years before Wright defeated him in the 2012 election.

At the time of the 2012 election, Wright was 22 — making him Georgia’s youngest mayor-elect at the time.

Dawson City Attorney Tommy Coleman said Friday that Wright was informed of the action Thursday evening and went home. Coleman said the order from Deal will not impact the election, and if Wright wins, he will go back into the position in January.

“There is no language in there (the order) that impacts a person’s run for office,” Coleman said.

Coleman said that, in the meantime, the city’s mayor pro tem, Ward III Councilman Calvin Stephens, is expected to take over as acting mayor while City Manager Barney Parnacott will maintain the role of overseeing the day-to-day operations in Dawson.

“There is no real effect on the operations of the city in the long term,” Coleman said.

The Dawson city attorney said he has been told Wright’s trial is scheduled for sometime next spring. If Wright is re-elected in November and convicted of a felony, he would then be removed from office, Coleman said.

The young Dawson official has been at the center of controversy since he took office. On July 16 of this year, Wright was cited in Albany on charges of impersonating a police officer, blue lights restricted and driving aggressively. In March 2013, he drew scrutiny from the Dawson City Council for using a city-owned vehicle for personal use.

In October 2013, Wright was the victim of a shooting at his home during which he sustained multiple gunshot wounds and remained in critical condition for an extended period before recovering from his wounds.

In August, the city council formally requested Wright take a voluntary suspension from office.

A call to Wright Friday went directly to voicemail.