Judge rejects Pendergrass mayor recall petition

JEFFERSON - A visiting Superior Court Judge has ruled against a group of Pendergrass residents who were looking to oust their mayor.

Judge John Ott said the group did not have enough evidence of wrongdoing to recall mayor Monk Tolbert.

Ott's latest decision came Monday. He ruled in October that evidence presented in a similar recall petition aimed at unseating Pendergrass City Council members was also insufficient to justify a recall election.

A recall committee led by Pendergrass resident Jerry Cooper asked the election superintendent to schedule a recall to remove Tolbert and all four council members from office.

Petitioners allege that Tolbert and the council misspent sales tax money that was reserved for specific projects and exceeded spending limits set in budgets for 2005, 2006 and 2007.