Atoka aldermen are scheduled to hear the results of an investigation into ethics complaints against vice mayor John Harber and an unnamed elected official, just one week after the mayoral election.
The investigation follows allegations raised by two residents during the board’s Oct. 8 meeting concerning Harber’s Facebook activity and interactions with town employees.
Alderman Chris Detje subsequently submitted a written request for an ethics investigation and on Oct. 13, the Atoka Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted to hire Covington City Attorney Rachel Simmons to act as an outside attorney.
The independent review was authorized to determine whether the alleged conduct violates Atoka’s municipal ethics ordinance. It does not mean Harber or anyone else has been found to have violated the ordinance, and the town has not initiated criminal proceedings or a lawsuit.
“They’re real problems and they are real concerns and they deserve immediate, proper investigation for real results,” Shaw said on Oct. 13. She also told the board ethics investigations don’t have a place in politics. “They’re not to be used as a weapon. They’re not to be threatened. They’re not to be used to intimidate someone or belittle another.”
Shaw said she has received at least two additional complaints, possibly three, but did not identify the people involved or disclose the allegations.
Why the town hired an outside attorney
Shaw ordinarily serves as Atoka’s ethics officer under a municipal ordinance adopted in 2007.
She told aldermen last month that the ordinance establishes a process for reviewing allegations of misconduct involving elected officials, appointed officials, employees and members of municipal boards and commissions.
However, Shaw said she could not independently investigate the allegations involving Harber because she had previously provided him legal advice on both matters.
“It would not be fair, and I would even dare say it would be improper, for me to turn around and then start to investigate,” Shaw said.
The ordinance permits the board to appoint outside counsel when the town attorney has a conflict.
Shaw recommended Simmons, who offered a reduced rate of $200 per hour. She estimated the review would take four to five hours, depending on the number of complaints.
Shaw initially requested permission to hire outside counsel during the Oct. 8 meeting, but the motion died without a second.
She said that left her without a way to address the written complaint Detje submitted the following day.
What prompted the investigation?
The initial complaint concerns allegations raised by residents Krista Scott and Brook Taylor during public comment at the Oct. 8 board meeting.
Shaw read from Detje’s written request during the Oct. 13 meeting.
“The claims, in his words, concern the alleged actions on Facebook, including the sending of messages of support, the distribution of objectionable images, the removal of posts, and related public online postings,” Shaw said.
She said Detje wrote that the allegations should not be ignored and that Harber should be cleared if they are unfounded.
Complaint involving the fire chief’s wife
Scott, who is married to Atoka Fire Chief Bill Scott, alleged that Harber used his position as an alderman to pressure her through her husband over her personal Facebook activity.
Speaking at the town’s Oct. 8 meeting, she told the board she had reacted to a Facebook post by former town planning director Amanda Faurbo criticizing Harber. According to Scott, Harber contacted her husband late that night and asked him to have her remove the reaction.
“And I did it. You know why? Because you decide whether or not he has a job,” Scott told the board.
Screenshots obtained by Paper Folds News show that Harber sent the fire chief a Facebook Messenger message at 11:31 p.m. June 12. “I am going to kindly ask that your wife remove the like on Amanda’s post on Facebook. She has me blocked so I can’t defend myself,” Harber wrote. The message was sent from the John Harber for Atoka Mayor page. The chief responded the following morning that his wife was out of town and that he would have the reaction removed. He subsequently sent another message: “Done.”
She argued that Harber’s actions violated her right to free speech and provisions of the town charter prohibiting individual aldermen from attempting to influence the official actions of town employees.
Harber disputed her characterization of the exchange. He acknowledged contacting the chief but said he had also contacted other town employees to ask that they remain neutral during the heated mayoral campaign.
“It was not a demand,” Harber said.
The exchange obtained by Paper Folds News does not include a request for neutrality.
Scott also suggested that Harber’s conduct amounted to official misconduct under Tennessee law.
The town’s ethics investigation is separate from any criminal investigation, and the outside attorney’s review will not determine whether Harber committed a crime.
The screenshots establish that Harber sent the message to the fire chief. Whether that conduct violated the town’s ethics ordinance remains undetermined.
Complaint involving Industrial Development Board member
After Taylor raised concerns through a mutual friend, she said, Harber sent her seven Facebook messages the night before the Oct. 8 meeting. The messages said he had been referring to issues involving Terry Roland, a consultant to the IDB, and included screenshots from Roland’s public Facebook page.
“I will tell you what they contain because you do not need to see it for yourself unless you ask,” Taylor told the board. She described posts with slurs and crude content aimed at Jews, Muslims, gay people, Iranians, Democrats, liberals and others.
“The one that really bothered me the most is a comparison of a colostomy bag to an older African-American lady,” she said. “As a Christian woman, I did not need to see this. I volunteered to be on the IDB to do better for the community, not to be called incompetent.”
Harber said he had shared Roland’s public posts with the IDB before Taylor joined, as part of an effort to have the board reconsider Roland’s $40,000 consulting contract.
“Anybody can go on his page and see these posts, his public posts. Like you said, I was disgusted. I was disgusted. I said, ‘Is this who we want to be the face of our town, to be the consultant to our IDB to recruit business?’ That fell on deaf ears,” Harber said. “And so unfortunately, you were caught in the crosshairs. My intent was to just inform you …”
Harber also shared his concerns about Roland’s representing the town, including the screenshots of Roland’s posts, with Paper Folds in June.
Additonally, Harber said the IDB did not seek other firms before awarding the contract, a claim that was disputed from the dais. When Detje asked why Harber would share the images if he found them disgusting, Harber said, “Well, then I will apologize.”
Taylor said she no longer wanted an apology.
What constitutes an ethics violation?
Shaw emphasized that the town’s ethics ordinance addresses specific categories of misconduct, not every disagreement or allegation of inappropriate behavior.
The ordinance prohibits certain conduct, including accepting improper gifts, using confidential government information for financial gain, using municipal resources for personal benefit and using public office to obtain unauthorized privileges.
Shaw said the attorney reviewing a complaint must determine whether the allegations fall within the ordinance.
“I don’t make fact-finding mission, for instance, about whether something looks a certain way or doesn’t look a certain way, because if it doesn’t fall within the scope of the ordinance, then it doesn’t fall within an ethics issue,” she said.
She offered examples of conduct the ordinance prohibits, including using information obtained through public office for personal financial gain or directing municipal employees to perform private work.
“You can’t get Public Works to go mow your yard,” Shaw said.
The distinction matters because an allegation of unethical behavior does not necessarily establish a violation of the town’s ethics ordinance.
Simmons was charged with reviewing the complaints, evaluating the relevant provisions and making recommendations to the board.
Shaw described the possible outcomes last month.
“Nothing needs to be done, something needs to be done, nothing’s been violated, here’s the subsection that has been violated,” she said.
The attorney’s role is advisory. The Board of Mayor and Aldermen is responsible for deciding whether further action is warranted.
Under the ordinance, an elected official found to have violated its provisions may be censured by the board or face other penalties authorized by the town charter or state law.
The review does not itself impose disciplinary action, remove anyone from office or result in criminal charges.
Additional complaints have been filed
Although the initial written request concerns Harber, Shaw said other complaints have been submitted since the Oct. 8 meeting.
“I know I’ve gotten two more complaints. There may be a third,” she told aldermen.
She did not identify the complainants, the officials involved or the nature of the additional allegations.
Shaw expressed concern that the complaints could become part of the ongoing political conflict surrounding the mayoral election.
“I don’t want us to get in the habit of that because these are real issues and real problems and very serious allegations that need to be addressed right away,” she said.
She said she requested the Oct. 13 special called meeting to prevent the complaints from remaining unresolved without a process for reviewing them.
“I feel like the more that things linger, the more people end up talking in Kroger, and that is not where I want business of the town of Atoka to be conducted,” Shaw said.
Following the Oct. 13 meeting, Harber’s wife, Rebecca, wrote on Facebook that ethics complaints had also been filed against another candidate. She criticized the public discussion for leaving the impression that her husband was the only official under investigation.
Shaw responded that the post was factually incorrect and said the town’s ethics ordinance does not provide for publicly listing complaints.
Rebecca Harber replied that her husband should not have been the only person identified.
“All of them or none of them,” she wrote.
The identities of anyone named in the additional complaints have not yet been publicly confirmed.
Concerns about politics and the election
The investigation came during a contentious mayoral campaign that generated months of arguments on Facebook and criticism of both candidates.
Several residents addressed the political atmosphere during the public comment period.
Kim Hodge, an administrator of the Fans of Atoka Facebook group, said she believes both Akin and Harber are capable of serving as mayor but criticized the conduct of people surrounding their campaigns.
“What it seems to me and a lot of other residents is this has become a popularity contest,” Hodge said.
She said the conflict has affected the broader community.
“It’s so funny to me coming in here, seeing all the handshaking and hugging, and some of these same people are literally slamming each other behind closed doors,” she said. “I don’t get it.”
Hodge also said she believed concerns about unethical behavior should be addressed consistently rather than directed at only one side.
Roger McMullen told the board that several of his customers believed the Oct. 8 meeting appeared to be an attack on Harber.
“I’ve had multiple, multiple people tell me that last week’s meeting looked like a one-sided attack,” McMullen said. “I think it needs to be looked into and investigated by an independent, however that works.”
He also criticized what he described as fighting between the mayor and vice mayor.
Akin disputed that characterization.
“There’s no fighting, Mr. Roger,” Akin said. “I told you that on the phone, that John and I are okay.”
Akin said he believed the conflict was coming from people around the candidates.
Shaw, meanwhile, cautioned against using the town’s ethics process for political purposes.
“Ethics investigations don’t have a place in politics,” she said. “They’re not to be used as a weapon. They’re not to be threatened. They’re not to be used to intimidate someone or belittle another.”
She said the allegations deserved a timely and impartial review regardless of the election.
“They’re real problems and they are real concerns and they deserve immediate, proper investigation for real results,” Shaw said.
Board votes to authorize review
Harber was the one to make the motion to authorize the outside investigation.
“I will proudly make a motion that I approve the town attorney’s request to hire outside counsel to conduct an ethics investigation,” he said.
Alderman Jessie Poole seconded the motion and requested that every complaint received to date be included.
“Any complaint that she has received to this date also be reviewed, fact-finded, et cetera, and that all those be reported back to this board the next scheduled board meeting,” Poole said.
Shaw indicated that she believed the work could be completed by then.
Before the vote, Harber asked whether he should abstain.
“I made the motion, but I just want to clarify if it’s your recommendation if I should abstain,” he said.
“It is my recommendation that you should abstain,” Shaw replied.
Poole, Detje and Aldermen Brett Giannini, Chris Schaeffer and Jeremy Lightsey voted in favor. Harber abstained.
Akin did not vote because the mayor votes only to break a tie.
What happens next?
The agenda shows Simmons is expected to report her findings Tuesday night.
The review could result in recommendations for further action or a determination that the complaints do not establish violations of the ethics ordinance.
