See why Stokes called for a no confidence vote against Jackson's city attorney. Mayor responds

A vote of no confidence for City Attorney Drew Martin has been placed on the Jackson City Council's Tuesday, July 30, meeting by Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes.

The new agenda item, placed by Stokes on Monday, comes one day after the ward 3 councilman and residents protested outside of a Texaco on Medgar Edgars Boulevard.

The protesters and Stokes called for the city to shut down the business due to recent homicides at or nearby the gas station. It was also where Stokes first announced he will be calling for a vote of no confidence against Martin.

At least two homicides have occurred at that Texaco this year. The first being on Jan. 24, when Rodger Fulgham, 47, was found dead of a single gun-shot wound. The second occurred on July 20. The Jackson Police Department confirmed that 23-year-old Jacobi Austin was shot and killed.

As for Martin, he has only been in the position of city attorney for five months, being confirmed by the council on Feb. 13. Stokes voted in opposition of Martin's confirmation, while Ward 5 Councilman Vernon Hartley abstained from the vote.

Martin said he was not commenting on Stokes' no confidence vote at this time.

Stokes security ordinance and Lumumba's response

At the council's July 2 meeting, Stokes and Hartley railed against the legal department and Martin over their handling of a new ordinance, written by Stokes, that would require security personnel at businesses where three violent crimes have occurred within a period of 90 days.

As soon as the ordinance was brought up at the meeting, Martin told the council he thought it was unenforceable and against state law. Other cities throughout the nation have passed similar ordinances, but they haven't withstood constitutional challenges, he said.

For Stokes and Hartley, the legal department wasn't trying hard enough to answer various legal questions that surround the ordinance.

At the meeting, Stokes suggested the city hire outside legal counsel if the legal department "feel they can't defend it."

Even with the concerns raised by Martin, the ordinance passed in a 5-1 vote.  Stokes, Hartley, Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote, Ward 2 Councilwoman Angelique Lee and Ward 6 Councilman Aaron Banks voted in favor. Ward 4 Councilman Brian Grizzell voted against the measure. Ward 7 Councilwoman Virgi Lindsay abstained.

Last week, Stokes accused Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba of not supporting the ordinance, to which the mayor responded, "I never said such."

At his Monday press conference, Lumumba again refuted Stokes' claims, while also defending Martin and the legal department's work.

"We're in agreement that we want to make certain that there are more security measures at these type of establishments, we just want to make certain that we do it in compliance with the law," Lumumba said. "So he (Martin) has been working on that. He never stopped working — it might surprise him (Stokes) and some other people that the city attorney's office has more than one thing to be worried about, more than one thing to research, more than one case to defend — and so it may not happen as fast as we want it."

Lumumba also cited a change in state law as a reason why stores don't have as much security. The "Landowners Protection Act," passed in 2019 by the Mississippi legislature, state property owners and employees of a business can't be held liable for an injury that occurs to someone by another person on their property. That means that the owners of the Texaco on Medgar Evers Boulevard can't be held liable for the homicides that occurred on their property this year.

"The fact that that liability is no longer there, now puts an increased burden on our police officers not only to patrol communities, not only to respond to calls, but people think the police can be security guards, too," Lumumba said. "JPD is doing their job. The facts are that we simply can't be everywhere at every moment in time."

Lumumba said he agrees "with the spirit of what was passed, I agree with the spirit of" Stokes' ordinance, but the city has to ensure that it doesn't violate the constitution. If it does, the city could potentially be sued by the owners of the businesses that the ordinance would require to have security personnel, Lumumba said.

"We want to make sure it's constitutional, that's our only request," he said.

The mayor said Martin has come up with a solution for some of the constitutionality concerns. He will present those to the council on Tuesday, but said it will not come up during the meeting because it's not on the agenda.

Similarly, another ordinance was recently passed that would require gas stations and convenience stores to connect their surveillance cameras to the Jackson Police Department's Real Time Command Center, giving JPD live access to the store's surveillance cameras. Legal and constitutionality concerns were also raised for this ordinance, with a national law group, the Institute for Justice, sending a letter to the council and the mayor advising it may violate the Fourth and Fifth Amendments.

What will the no confidence vote do if approved?

When asked by reporters what would happen if the no confidence vote was approved, Lumumba said he was just as perplexed as everyone else.

"The question itself suggests the answer. The fact that you got to ask, 'What does it mean?' means that it probably means very little," Lumumba said. "I don't know what we're doing with that, what the message we're sending to the public. That's really the issue, what message are we sending to the public?"

In the mayor-council form of government in Jackson, department heads are selected by the mayor and confirmed by the city council. Only the mayor has the power to appoint and terminate those positions.

According to Mississippi Code § 21-8-17, "No member of the council shall give orders to any employee or subordinate of a municipality other than the council member's personal staff."

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson MS councilman calls for no confidence vote against city attorney