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Author    Post   Steve Myers Site Admin A judge ordered Mayor Don Williamson to appear before the City Council on Wednesday to answer questions - regarding city issues only. The ruling ended a day when attorneys for Williamson and the council bounced from one Genesee County Circuit Court to another, clarifying issues and interpreting rulings. Genesee Circuit Judge Geoffrey L. Neithercut cautioned both sides to act civilly toward each other. He said citizens are "fed up" with the infighting, "rude and crude" remarks and childishness displayed by both Williamson and members of the council. Neithercut said citizens have told him that both sides need to be locked in a room and "paddled" like stubborn children. Attorney Loyst Fletcher, who represents the City Council, said Neithercut could order sanctions against Williamson if the mayor decides to ignore the order and not appear. But Williamson also is not required to answer questions that are not directly related to the operation of the city, Neithercut and Genesee Circuit Judge Archie L. Hayman ruled. The judges said if there is a problem, they will examine the record and the questions and rule whether questions not answered fall into the must-answer category. Fletcher said council expects the questioning of Williamson to begin at 3:30 p.m. and last about 2 hours. Fletcher and Flint attorney C. Frederick Robinson, who is representing Williamson in the matter, first appeared before Neithercut on Monday and then before Hayman to get a specific explanation of his earlier ruling of a few weeks ago, when Hayman said City Council can subpoena the mayor and grill him about city issues. Robinson argued that council outlined questions that dealt with Williamson's campaign and other noncity issues. Robinson said some of the inquiries have been part of a conspiracy by City Council to embarrass Williamson, aid in current recall efforts and usurp his powers. Activist Eric Mays, who once worked for Williamson but has since had a falling out with the mayor, currently is engaged in a petition drive to have him recalled.. Even though Williamson did appear recently at a council meeting to answer questions, he left before the council finished. Fletcher stopped short of saying Williamson broke the law, but said he "failed to honor the subpoena." Robinson said the hearings on Monday were meant to spell out simply the parameters of the earlier ruling, which he said were misleading. "The way Judge Hayman ruled is the law in this case," Neithercut said. He said Williamson's attorney can advise him not to answer certain questions. "But we need to get these issues resolved for the sake of the taxpayers," Neithercut said. Full Story: http://www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-28/1113924219263750.xml Tue Apr 19, 2005 4:49 pm    Display posts from previous:   All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First

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