Fulton County Commissioner Natalie Hall was censured this week by her board colleagues in a 5-0 vote due to her inappropriate sexual relationship with her former chief of staff and retaining a staff member who violated county procedures while working for her.
Concerned citizens in Atlanta — the Georgia capital is the county seat of Fulton — have asked her to resign, even making fun of her relationship and mocking her as a leader.
One resident came forward at the county commission meeting on Wednesday and used the public comment segment to roast Hall. After approaching the microphone and podium, the resident interpolated soul singer Billy Paul’s 1972 hit “Me and Mrs. Jones.”
She started to sing, “Me and Mrs. Hall, we got a thing going on… and it’s much too strong to let it go now.”
“She’s using trackers to keep an eye on her crackers. She raised our taxes and doubled and doubled her gigolo’s salary,” she continued before going into a vamp about how certain explicit activities that “hurt so much” cost the taxpayers money and how Hall and Brock needed to be careful so as not to be exposed by the other politicians.
After the woman’s colorful performance, tensions rose on the dais.
In a heated exchange, Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. vehemently objected to Hall’s censure being public.
“We never discuss litigation nor personnel matters on a public agenda. It is absolutely unprecedented,” he said.
However, he was shut down by Fulton County Chair Rob Pitts, who declared him “out of order,” and the discussion moved forward.
Neither Arrington nor Hall voted on the censure, which is related to a 2021 complaint filed by her former chief of staff, Calvin Brock.
In his EEOC complaint, Calvin Brock v. Fulton County Board of Commissioners, Brock demanded monetary damages for alleged sexual harassment and retaliation and for Hall violating federal employment laws.
Brock claims he was coerced into a sexual relationship with Hall, and when he ended the relationship, Hall fired him. The commissioner, who was married then, allegedly had sexual encounters with Brock at her downtown Atlanta office, her home and his apartment, he claimed. He reportedly got two promotions while Hall was his boss, which he alleged were rewards for their affair. His salary started at $65,000 and climbed to $125,000.
However, things took a turn, according to Brock, when he told Hall that he wanted to see other people. He claims the commissioner planted three tracking and recording devices in two of his personal vehicles out of jealousy.
Hall’s attorneys contend that the sexual relationship had been consensual, and Brock even told Hall that she could have him anytime she wanted. They decided at one point to make the relationship public, and they met each other’s children. Hall said both agreed that Brock would leave and get another job, but they started having problems in the relationship in 2020.
Hall said he started lying about minor things and disrespecting her in front of a colleague. Her attorneys challenged the wrongful termination assertion and disputed the allegations of sexual harassment.
The censure resolution publicly clarified that consensual relationships, though not necessarily constituting sexual harassment under federal laws, still infringe upon Fulton County Personnel Procedure 311-16, which prohibits supervisor-subordinate sexual relationships.
The facts presented to the panel showed Hall demonstrated “lapses in judgment and failure to safeguard the best interests of Fulton County resulting in damage to the reputation of Fulton County and the Board of Commissioners,” according to the resolution.
It also highlighted Hall’s decision to retain one worker despite evidence that the employee violated county procedures, misused county property, and had previously served time for crimes related to impersonating a police officer and robbery.
The sexual harassment claim opened the county up for not just public scrutiny and possibly civil damages but also public ridicule from constituents.
A clip of the singing resident went viral on social media Thursday.
“If that was not enough to show that Atlanta is an unreal & unsophisticated place,” wrote one X user.
The woman in the viral clip is not the only one demanding that Hall resign.
“We do not trust her. We don’t believe the things she says because she smirks like as if there is no apology,” community leader LA Pink said, according to 11 Alive. “She should step down.”
Hall admitted to the relationship with her employee but did not discuss if she was going to step down. Instead, she waited for the meeting to move on, and she joined her colleagues in addressing those other issues on the agenda for the week.
