Georgia’s youngest elected mayor has been removed from office just 10 months after taking the post, following allegations that he misused public funds and exchanged sexually suggestive messages and explicit images with an 18-year-old high school student.
Jayden Williams, who recently turned 23, was impeached by the Stockbridge City Council after becoming mayor of the Atlanta-area city in January.
“The City of Stockbridge confirms that the City Council has taken formal action concerning the Office of Mayor,” the city said in a statement Sunday. “The Mayor has been removed from office.”
According to Fox 5 Atlanta, Williams was accused of using a city purchasing card to pay more than $4,000 in personal expenses, including restaurant bills, clothing, haircuts and a movie.
He also reportedly spent $2,600 on gasoline and used a city vehicle for personal activities.
The alleged spending came to light after city employees noticed unusual transactions involving public money and promptly alerted management and the city’s legal department.
In testimony, Williams said he had not intended to use city funds for personal purchases and had repaid the money, Fox 5 reported.
He also said the city-issued card looked similar to his personal card. Williams told officials he later replaced both cards to prevent similar confusion in the future, according to the outlet.
The mayor faced a separate allegation involving sexually suggestive messages and explicit images exchanged with an 18-year-old male high school student.
A police report said Williams did not violate criminal law because the student was legally considered an adult in Georgia.
Still, police referred the matter for administrative review because of potential ethical and policy concerns surrounding an elected official’s communication with a student connected to what investigators described as a city-affiliated mentorship program, Fox 5 reported.
Williams previously said he met the individual before taking office and maintained that the student had never taken part in Stockbridge’s “Mayor for a Day” program, which he said was not a mentorship initiative.
“The individual was 18 years old at the time of our communication, meaning we were both adults. I met this individual on November 30, 2025, and our online communication occurred before I was sworn into office in January 2026,” Williams said.
Williams made history as Georgia’s youngest mayor after running for office while attending Clark Atlanta University.
As the investigation continued, he was stripped of certain official privileges on July 17. Williams was never criminally charged in connection with the allegations.
