What's next for Stonecrest after mayor's resignation amid fraud scandal

January 25th, 2022

Jason Lary recently resigned from his position as the mayor of Stonecrest and pled guilty to fraud charges. Janice Allen Jackson, the acting city manager for Stonecrest and chief operating officer of city government, joined "Closer Look" on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022, to discuss what’s next for the city. (Photo courtesy of the city of Stonecrest)

Earlier this month, Jason Lary, Stonecrest’s first-ever mayor, resigned from his position and pled guilty to fraud charges. Lary, who is expected to be sentenced in May, faces up to 35 years in prison.

On Tuesday’s edition of “Closer Look,” Janice Allen Jackson, the acting city manager for Stonecrest and chief operating officer of city government, talked with program host Rose Scott about what’s next for the city and how its leaders are working to rebuild trust with residents through transparency.

“We are going to work extra hard to just engage the public so that they can see we are working really hard to build their trust and confidence,” Jackson said.

Jackson also talked about the current process of electing a new mayor and Stonecrest’s council-manager system form of government that the city has operated under since April 2021.

“The mayor does not have as much responsibility for the day-to-day operations, so it’s much more tenable to function without a mayor under the council-manager form of government than it would be under a strong mayor form,” Jackson said.

To listen to the conversation, click the audio player above.