Camden County election board issues petition applications for three Woodbine officials

The Camden County election board voted to issue recall petition application forms for three Woodbine officials after hearing public testimony alleging failures in oversight and long-running audit delays.

John Ralph Burns Jr., representing "concerned citizens of Woodbine," read a written statement accusing elected officials of a "lack of transparency, accountability, and communication," saying the city had not completed state audits for multiple years and alleging a failure to provide records and timely responses to residents. "Tax paying citizens have repeatedly sought answers, clarity, openness concerning decisions," Burns said, urging the board to approve the petition application for circulation.

Some public participants and a council member disagreed about who the petition targets. Rick Baird, a Woodbine councilman who said he is one of the subjects of the recall, asked that Robin Maynard Knight recuse herself from the matter; Knight told the board she would recuse herself for the record and left the board area. Deandra Hosendorf Hamilton, another Woodbine resident, told the board the petitioners intended to recall all five council members.

Dennis Irvin, election specialist with Camden County, told the board the relevant statute, OCGA 21-4-5(a), bars filing a recall application during the first or last 180 days of an official's term. "There are two individuals currently on the city council that are not 180 days into their current term," Irvin said, explaining those terms began Jan. 1, 2026 and are 141 days into the term, making them ineligible now. The board said petitioners may return for applications for those two members after the 180-day threshold.

After discussion about process and legal sufficiency, the board took separate motions and voice votes to issue petition application forms for three individuals named by the petitioners: Councilman Bayard, Phyllis Drummond and Kizzie Knight. Vice Chair Ray Holland moved that the superintendent's office be authorized to issue the forms on the board's behalf to facilitate circulation; staff confirmed they would do so.

Board members stressed that issuing the application forms is an administrative step that allows petition circulation and does not itself remove an elected official from office. The board said legal sufficiency and signature verification would be addressed later under the statutory process.

The board directed staff to work with the county attorney and to follow the code's requirements for issuing and later verifying any circulated recall petitions. Chair McCullough said the board would not rush the matter and emphasized that recalling an official is a "very serious matter."