Macon mayor denies discriminating against former assistant

Macon-Bibb Mayor Robert Reichert denies that he failed to promote a former assistant due to racial discrimination.

Reichert and county attorneys filed a response last week to a lawsuit filed by Charles Coney, a former assistant county manager.

Coney, who is black, says he applied to become Macon-Bibb's county manager when the job opened up last year, but he was never interviewed for the job.

Reichert's response, filed Dec. 17, argues that he did not promote Coney due to "legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons," unrelated to race.

The mayor also denies many of Coney's claims.

His response also argues that positions like the county-manager post are exempt from the federal anti-discrimination law. He also argues that he is protected by "sovereign and governmental immunity" -- the principle under Georgia law that says government officials can't be sued for acting in their official capacities.

Coney filed his lawsuit against Reichert and Bibb County on Oct. 28 in U.S. District Court in Albany.

In early 2018, he left Bibb County to become Hampton's city manager.

In May, he filed a discrimination complaint against Bibb County with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, but the federal agency dismissed his complaint in July, saying that they could not prove discrimination in the case.

No trial date has been set for Coney's lawsuit.