Profile in Courage: Atlanta Inspector General Shannon K. Manigault

Atlanta Inspector General (IG) Shannon K. Manigault has a lot on her plate. Corruption runs rampant in Atlanta City Hall, and the rot runs deep. The April conviction of former city Chief Financial Officer Jim Beard for federal program theft and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audit obstruction is just the latest in a string of scandals plaguing the city’s leadership. Corrupt city officials are unwilling to go without a fight. Manigault took the podium during an Atlanta City Council meeting in May to discuss the IG’s continuing battle against corruption. Alarmingly, IG Manigault uncovered efforts by city officials to derail the watchdog’s work by creating, “[h]urdles…to delay, impede, and disclose our confidential investigations.” Despite these shenanigans, she continues to fight for transparency and accountability. For continuing to fight the good fight and remind everybody of the importance of an independent IG, Shannon Manigault is a Profile in Courage.

Atlanta residents understandably have a jaded view of local leadership. In 2021, a local NPR news affiliate highlighted promises by Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens to pass ethics and transparency reforms. This has unfortunately not come to fruition. In 2022, former Atlanta city official and pastor Mitzi Bickers was sentenced to 14 years in prison for using her position as city director of human services to steer $17 million in city work to local contractors in exchange for bribes. A sprawling, eight-year federal investigation has nabbed numerous other Atlanta officials for fraud, bribery, and misuse of taxpayer dollars, including Jim Beard.

The IG’s office is working to sniff out these schemes and expose city officials making a mockery of public service. According to one recently released report by IG Manigault’s office, one senior city employee actively tried steering solicitations for taxpayer-funded projects to a friend who worked for a bidding company. The employee would inappropriately share project details and granular budget information with their friend, would then use the information to increase proposed costs for task order services. The IG found, “On the identified task orders, quotes increased at least $850,000 following the disclosure of budget information.”

Another recent report by the IG concluded that the commissioner of the Department of Human Resources “abused her authority in creating a [city of Atlanta job] position for her daughter and attempting the termination of…[her daughter’s] supervisor” after the supervisor pointed out the daughter’s absenteeism. The IG deserves praise from city officials for bringing attention to this unacceptable conduct. Instead, she and her office have been targeted and obstructed every step of the way. Manigault notes that, lately, “there have been processes and procedures put in place that have made it harder for us to do our jobs, harder for us to get access to necessary records… City departments have been given an instruction — and we have multiple cases that can speak to this — where they were told to treat the Office of Inspector General requests like open records requests.” Meanwhile, city council members such as Rep. Marci Collier Overstreet (Dist. 11) have lambasted the IG for not going through “proper channels” nor being consulted about the corruption crisis. Overstreet should be more concerned about widespread criminal activity in city government and less concerned with how the news is delivered.

Unfortunately, Manigault is not the only IG who has faced pushback for doing her job. Baltimore city IG Isabel Cumming has taken considerable heat for standing up to Charm City’s corruption-plagued government. Cumming investigated then-Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, known for her lavish international trips on the taxpayer’s dime and problems accurately reporting her finances. Following the release of a report detailing Mosby’s many ethically dubious travel expenditures, Mosby’s lawyers pressured the IG office to revise the report to make the embattled attorney look better. Cumming stood firm, responding, “[n]o. I’m standing behind my report.” And, now that Mosby has been convicted for fraud and perjury, Cumming’s decision to not waver in holding her accountable looks all the better.

Neighboring Baltimore County has also had more than its fair share of hostility against government watchdogs. In a battle that began in 2021, Baltimore County officials tried to strip IG Kelly Madigan of some investigative powers and attempted to set up roadblocks for requesting information which would have effectively made the IG’s office toothless. A public pressure campaign forced Baltimore County officials to back off.

These IG heroes deserve praise and recognition but are instead greeted with hostility and pushback. IG Manigault and her counterparts across America are Profiles in Courage. Watchdogs need to be able to do their jobs without retaliation or conspiracies against them.