Council Keeps Few. But What About Sew & Hew?

Councilman Jack Cooley made a motion to terminate the contract of Few, seconded by Councilman Woody Collins. They were the only two votes in favor of the motion.

Mayor Cecil P. Williamson and Councilmen Thomas Moore, Charles Jones and Melvin Yelverton voted against the motion and to keep Few.

Williamson defended the council’s decision to keep Few in the face of public disapproval saying that sometimes city leaders must make unpopular decisions.

Cooley made the motion to go into executive session, saying he wanted answers on the “good name and character” of Few. He made it clear that he was not there to barrage Few with questions in public.

Cooley asked Public Safety Director Jeff Manuel to participate in the executive session. Manuel confirmed yesterday that he traveled to Georgia to investigate Few’s background prior to the council hiring him.

When Cooley made the motion to terminate Few’s contract, he said he did so based on the information that came to light after the council made their decision to hire Few.

Few has served as fire chief of both Augusta, Ga., and Washington, D.C. In both places, Few was the center of controversy that dogged him up until his resignation.

In Augusta, Ga., a grand jury investigated Few for mismanagement of funds. In D.C., he and three of his top aides he hired from Georgia, was accused of forging their resumes.

Following the meeting, several citizens angrily voiced their dismay with the council’s decision, some going so far as to get in the mayor’s face and tell her that she would not win re-election.

The mayor responded to some who confronted her that the city hired Few to “raise the status of the fire department” and to improve “the morale of the men” at the fire department.

One lady heckled the mayor as she was being interviewed by a TV news reporter, telling the reporter not to believe anything the mayor says and calling Williamson “a liar”.

The mayor asked the television station, “What questions do you want to ask me? What do you want me to say?”

Rooster Hall was packed with citizens. While a few seats remained empty, people lined the walls in the back of Rooster Hall.