December 15, 2006
Moultrie - When she was only 20-years old Jo Ealum decided to throw her hat in the political arena, running for Lee County Commission. She beat the incumbent, and was elected by about 50 votes. But now, more than 100 people have signed an application saying they want her out. "It's a small, little group of people that are trying to undermine the will of the voting public that elected her to serve in the capacity she's serving," says Ealum's attorney Jody Weathers.
Their reasons? One is violation of oath of office, because she is suing two Former Law Enforcement officers. A second reason listed for recall was that she failed to perform duties prescribed by law, because she attends the University of Georgia in Athens, but here's something you probably weren't familiar with. Weathers says, "She was actually a student at the time that she ran for and was elected."
That's right. A student then and a student now, but her permanent residence is Lee County, and her attorney says she comes back to Lee County as often as possible to fulfill her duties. He says, "She is serving. She is attending all meetings. I think she may have missed one meeting, maybe."
The application also says Ealum committed an act of misconduct in office by throwing underage drinking parties. Weathers, says 1) That never happened. 2) she was accused before she took her oath of office and 3) Those charges were thrown out by a Superior Court Judge. "There's absolutely no factual basis to support the application, whatsoever," says Weathers.
In addition to a lack of reasons for recall, Weathers says those who signed the application broke the law by making false statements about Ealum. He says, "The burden of proof is on the actual parties, or the sponsors of the application."
Weathers says Ealum has represented her district well, and has always upheld the law and that the lawbreakers are the ones who signed the recall application.
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