Hugley's Attorney Responds to Letter From Councilors' Attorney

Sir Walter Scott told us in the 1800s: “Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” This statement is apropos to the matter between the Columbus Council and Columbus City Manager Isaiah Hugley.

In response to a letter sent to Hugley’s lawyer, Scott Grubman, from an attorney Leslie B. Hartnett, who is representing Columbus Council members Byron Hickey, Glenn Davis, Charmaine Crabb, Toyia Tucker, Joanne Cogle, Byron Hickey, and John Anker, new insight was provided which indicated that Hugley did not violate any ethical obligation and that Hickey’s aggression toward Hugley could be personal.

In the letter, Grubman explains that in 2022, prior to applications being accepted for the American Rescue Plan and before the awarding of funds to Carolyn F. Hugley State Farm Insurance, the Council delegated the responsibility for overseeing the awarding of the $4 million in funding for small businesses to the Columbus Chamber of Commerce.

Resolution 380-22, which was approved on Nov. 29, 2022, long before Hickey and Anker were appointed to the Council, 10 council members voted to allow the small business and nonprofit economic relief grant program utilizing funding received under the American Rescue Plan Act and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act to be administered by the Greater Columbus Georgia Chamber of Commerce.

With this new information, it seems that Hugley had no ethical obligation to bring the matter before Columbus Council because the Council had unanimously voted to allow all administration of the grant program to be conducted by the Chamber.

Furthermore, the letter, which included attachments, implies that Hickey only raised concerns about the awarding of the grant to Hughley’s wife, House Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley, because his own wife, Sandra Hickey, who works for the Columbus Police Department, had been denied a pay increase.

The Council had previously contracted with Evergreen Solutions to conduct a classification and compensation study to determine if pay plans were in line with those from similar cities (Columbus Consolidated Government, GA: Classification and Compensation Study – Evergreen Solutions).

Although the study was conducted prior to August of 2022, years before Byron Hickey was appointed to the Council, Sandra Hickey emailed her husband regarding her appeal on Feb. 12, 2025, who then emailed Hugley regarding the matter. It does not appear that Hickey disclosed to the entire council that he was intervening on behalf of his wife to inquire about her pay increase.

Columbus Georgia United issued a statement Monday April 28, 2025, following the latest response from Grubman, reinforcing the organization's longstanding concerns regarding the motivations behind certain Council members' actions.

"The information detailed in Attorney Grubman's most recent response only strengthens what we at Columbus Georgia United have believed from the outset — that the actions taken by the aforementioned council members appear to be personal in nature rather than rooted in legitimate governance concerns," said spokesperson Dorothy “Dot” Bass. "Moreover, the new revelation regarding Councilman Byron Hickey’s alleged attempt to intervene on behalf of his wife raises serious ethical questions and could constitute a violation of ethics rules," Bass added.

This new information indicates that Hickey is accusing Hugley of ethical violations, when in fact Hickey seems to have violated those same ethical requirements.