At the beginning of January 2008, James Bray was sworn into office as Mayor of the City of Greenville following a highly contested election.1 During the City Council’s first meeting of the year, Bray told the members of the Council that he wished to terminate Johnnie Owens, the acting City Clerk, and Darryl Williams, the acting Chief of Police. Bray raised this issue with the Council because, in October 2007, the City passed a resolution stating that “all hiring, firing, raises, and promotions are to be initiated by the mayor, but must be affirmed in regular session of City Council by the majority vote.” The Council indicated some concern about the terminations and wished to act slowly and with caution. In January 2008, however, Bray fired Owens and Williams and issued letters of termination to them. Bray then appointed Everline Clay as the City Clerk and Wayne Frazier as Chief of Police.2 It is undisputed that Bray never presented to the Council the question of whether to appoint Clay or Frazier, and the Council never voted on their appointments or the dismissal of Owens and Williams. Owens and Williams thereafter sued the City and the Mayor, in both his official and individual capacities, for wrongful termination and concomitant damages. After a hearing, the trial court found that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the case because it presented a purely political question. In the alternative, the trial court granted the City’s and the Bray’s motions for summary judgment, finding, among other things, that, despite Bray’s actions, the terms of Owens and Williams had naturally expired in accordance with the City Charter. Owens and Williams now appeal. Because the trial court had proper jurisdiction over the case, questions of material fact remain, and questions of law remain unreached by the trial court, we reverse.
1. Owens and Williams contend that the trial court erred by determining it did not have jurisdiction over this case because it presents a purely political question. We agree. The fact that a controversy has political overtones does not place it beyond judicial review. “The law is equally as well settled that the judiciary is by the Constitution given the power and jurisdiction to adjudicate any and all justiciable questions presented to it in litigation, and that this jurisdiction of the courts is neither ousted nor impaired by the fact that there may be involved in such cases political questions. . . .” Thompson v. Talmadge , 201 Ga. 867, 871 41 SE2d 883 1947. Bowen v. Griffeth , 258 Ga. 162, 163 1 366 SE2d 293 1988. In this case, the trial court was presented with a question of wrongful termination which may be decided by the application of the facts and the reading of the City’s governing documents in a straightforward and impartial manner. As a result, this matter does not present a purely political question, and the trial court erred in its determination otherwise. Id.
