Two members of the Atlanta–Fulton County library board, both defendants in a lawsuit alleging they forced white employees out of the downtown branch, are stepping down.
Fulton County commissioners voted 4–3 December 20 to end Mary Ward’s service after eight years, while Board Chairman William McClure has agreed to resign at the request of newly elected Commissioner Bill Edwards. Both Ward and McClure were considered power brokers on the 17-member board that had been repreatedly criticized for micromanagement, according to the December 21 Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“My sense is that, as a member of the board,” Commissioner Bob Fulton said, “there are board members who would like to see the board focus more on policy than on management.”
McClure had two years left on his current term. The lawsuit alleges that McClure made the comment that “There are too many old, white women” in management positions and the board “needed to get rid of them.”
Posted December 25, 2000.