Atlanta's inspector general and most of her oversight board resigned in February 2025 citing systematic retaliation from City Hall, and Mayor Andre Dickens' administration's subsequent appointment of an interim replacement was disputed by the former City Council president as a violation of the city charter's independence protections
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Inspector General Shannon Manigault and three of four governing board members resigned on February 17, 2025, with Manigault stating city leadership had made clear that 'a real, functioning, effective Office of Inspector General is not welcome in Atlanta' and describing 'systematic, sustained and savage' attacks, the same day the City Council passed a bill restricting the office's investigative powers 14-1. Mayor Dickens then appointed Judge LaDawn Blackett as interim inspector general on February 28, 2025, which former Council President Felicia Moore said violated the charter's requirement that a governing board, not the mayor, fill the position; City Attorney Patrice Perkins-Hooker countered that the mayor has authority to fill vacant department-head posts. The mayor's office said it looked forward to working with a new inspector general and called ethical government one of the mayor's four pillars.
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