NATCHEZ &045;&045; Courtney Aldridge doesn’t consider himself a political person, but he jumped right into a political issue Monday afternoon.

Aldridge and a friend, attorney Kevin Colbert, filed a lawsuit in Adams County Circuit Court seeking to have the board of aldermen’s decision to rehire a police officer reversed.

&uot;There is something basically wrong when the board of aldermen and the mayor are performing their duties in an illegal manner,&uot; Aldridge said Monday.

Aldridge and Colbert filed their lawsuit in response to an Oct. 12 decision by the Natchez Board of Aldermen to rehire former police officer Willie B. Jones. Although advised by City Attorney Walter Brown that hiring a police officer was the responsibility of the Civil Service Commission, aldermen voted &045;&045; on a tie vote broken by Mayor Phillip West &045;&045; to rehire Jones.

In their lawsuit, Colbert and Aldridge said they have the right &uot;as adult resident citizens of the City of Natchez … to resort to the remedy of mandamus to compel public officials and bodies to act as non-discretionary duties plainly required by law.&uot;

Brown said Monday he had asked the state attorney general’s office earlier this month for an opinion on the issue.

&uot;I had hoped that that would resolve it, rather than litigation,&uot; Brown said.

The lawsuit names the mayor and all six aldermen: Joyce Arceneaux, James &uot;Rickey&uot; Gray, Theodore &uot;Bubber&uot; West, Bob Pollard, Jake Middleton and David Massey.

Alderman West said the plaintiffs have a right to file the suit.

&uot;Everyone has a right to do what they think is right,&uot; he said. &uot;We’ll just see how it comes out.&uot;

Massey, who with Pollard and Middleton voted against rehiring Jones, did not have a comment Monday.

Arceneaux also did not have a comment Monday night.

Neither the mayor nor the other aldermen could be reached for comment.

Seeking reversal

The lawsuit seeks a writ of mandamus that the circuit court compel the aldermen to:

4rescind their vote which resulted in Jones’ hiring

4take any an all actions necessary to discharge Jones from the position he was appointed to

4repay the city any salary, costs or other expenses that the city incurred as a result of the hiring

4abide by all state statutes and rules and regulations of the Civil Service Commission regarding the hiring of police officers or firefighters.

The plaintiffs in Monday’s lawsuit said they do not have a problem with Jones but with the action taken by the mayor and board.

&uot;(Jones has) been working for over a month,&uot; Aldridge said. &uot;The more entrenched he is, the more illegal the act becomes. There’s more liability for the city, and that concerns me.&uot;

Background

Jones was rehired two weeks after the aldermen amended the city’s personnel policy so that former employees terminated or resigning pending disciplinary action can be eligible for reemployment after fire years.

That applied to Jones, who resigned in April 1997 while under investigation for alleged obstruction of justice. Jones later entered a no contest plea on the charge, which was reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor. His record was expunged last month.

Jones reported to work at the police department in October, the day after the board of aldermen voted to rehire him.

But at the Nov. 9 aldermen meeting, the board voted to disallow payment of Jones’ salary until the legality of his hiring could be settled.

Seeking an opinion

In his request for an opinion from the attorney general, city attorney Brown asked two questions:

4Whether Jones could be rehired without going through the statutorily created Civil Service testing and review process

4Whether a former employee whose certification as a qualified law enforcement officer has expired, and/or who is currently under review by the Law Enforcement Board by rehired by the city or otherwise perform duties as a law enforcement officer.

Colbert said he believes the attorney general’s office would issue an opinion that favors the plaintiffs’ side.

Aldridge said he has been following the issue since aldermen first rehired Jones, but he waited to take action to see if the Civil Service Commission itself would file a suit.

&uot;I’m not political by nature,&uot; Aldridge said. &uot;I’ve lived here all my life and I love this town.&uot;

Aldridge said he holds no ill will against the aldermen, the mayor or Jones.

&uot;I’m an advocate of change but I’m also an advocate of working within existing channels to make changes,&uot; Aldridge said. &uot;If we break this law, we might as well break all laws. (Aldermen) have to set an example. By not doing so, it hurts us all.&uot;