College Park City Council suddenly fires top official ‘with cause,’ but won’t say what the cause is

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. - College Park’s city council abruptly fired its city manager last week but refused to say why.

Stanley Hawthorne was on the job as the city manager for just under 10 months, up until last week when the council abruptly fired him.

The reason why remains a mystery.

College Park City Manager Stanley Hawthorne was fired during a council meeting on Jan. 16, 2024. (College Park)

Hawthorne spoke exclusively to FOX 5 on Monday. He says he was blindsided as the council voted to fire him with cause as he sat feet away.

"We came out of an executive session, and I was greatly surprised," Hawthorne said.

At last week’s meeting, he was heard on video asking for an explanation. They said he would hear from the city’s attorney, Winston Denmark.

However, he says that explanation never came.

"There is no cause," Hawthorne said. "My contract is very clear on how I can be terminated for cause."

Since then, no one from the city has been able to offer any explanation about why the council fired its top administrator.

A spokesperson referred us to the city attorney, Denmark.

After several follow-up calls and emails, Denmark declined to comment.

So, FOX 5 walked into City Hall on Monday.

A spokesperson said, "Yeah, we’re not making any comments at this time. Unfortunately, so that’s pretty much all I can give you."

When asked if that spokesperson knew why he was fired, she said, "Sorry," and walked away.

Curiously, this isn’t Hawthorne’s only city manager role ending on mysterious terms.

The College Park City Council has voted to fire City Manager Stanely Hawthorne during a meeting on Jan. 16, 2024. (College Park)

Before taking the job in College Park, he quit the same role in Bloomfield, Connecticut, after a year and a half.

At the time, he told the website CT Insider that it was driven by a bitter divide in local politics.

He says he now wants to end his career in College Park – but with severance.

"This community deserves the very best," he said. "I’m sorry I won’t be a part of helping to complete that mission."

On Monday, the College Park City Council held a specially called meeting. The only agenda item is "city manager employment."

During the meeting, the council voted to rescind the vote to fire Hawthorne and then accept his resignation and terms.

The council chose not to disclose those terms during the meeting.