Clayton County hospital on the brink

Clayton County’s only hospital may need to ask for federal help or call for layoffs to keep its doors open. Southern Regional Medical Center in Riverdale south of Atlanta will not get help from the county—commissioners last night rejected a 40-million dollar bond request. Without help, hospital officials likely will have to write to check to creditors by the end of the month. Southern Regional’s president and CEO says the hospital costs 20-million dollars a month to operate. Officials say the 331-bed hospital ended fiscal year 2008 with a 7-million dollar loss.

Transgender Ga. official wins legal battle

Riverdale City Council member Michelle Bruce (top), Doraville City Council candidate Brian Bates, Decatur City Commissioner Kecia Cunningham and East Point City Councilmember Lance Rhodes. (Photos file or courtesy of candidates.)

Georgia's top court ruled in favor of a transgender politician who was slapped with a lawsuit by two political opponents who claimed she misled voters by running as a female.

The Georgia Supreme Court's unanimous ruling on Monday found that the two political opponents who filed the lawsuit failed to produce evidence of fraud, misconduct or illegal action after claiming that Michelle Bruce bamboozled voters by identifying herself as a female.

Bruce, who was believed to be the state's first transgender politician, landed one of four council seats in Riverdale, Ga. in 2003. Running unopposed, she pledged to attract more jobs and residents to the struggling town 12 miles south of Atlanta.

Last year, however, three people signed up to run against her, and she failed to capture enough votes to avoid a runoff against second-place finisher Wayne Hall.

The third- and fourth-place finishers, Georgia Fuller and Stan Harris, filed a lawsuit after the primary that identified Bruce as "Michael" and sought a new election.

It's unclear whether most voters knew of Bruce's transgender status before the lawsuit was filed. She has declined to say whether she has had surgery, but said she always identified herself as transgender.

"I'm Michelle," she said when the suit was filed. "I'm the same Michelle they elected four years ago."

Hall won the runoff, and Bruce blamed the lawsuit for her defeat.

Meanwhile, the complaint made its way through Georgia's legal system. In its decision Monday, the court ruled for Bruce and concluded that "none of these alleged irregularities is specific enough to cast doubts" on the election.

Gay rights groups said the lawsuit appears to be the first in the country that accused an elected official of lying to the public because he or she is transgender.

"I am not aware of any other case involving the issue of whether a transgender candidate is defrauding the citizens," said Cole Thaler, an attorney with Lambda Legal, a gay rights group.

Bruce's attorneys said they felt vindicated by the ruling.

Michael King, the attorney for the plaintiffs, said he was disappointed and surprised by the decision.

"We think there were significant irregularities and misconduct to reverse the election," he said.

On the Net:
Georgia Supreme Court: http://www.gasupreme.us

(The Associated Press)

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the events that led up to the decision.

Runoff elections in Georgia--lawsuit out in Riverdale

It is election day across the state, as various runoff races are being determined.

In Riverdale, a city council runoff will be held there as scheduled. A judge on Monday threw out a lawsuit that aimed to disqualify a transgender city council member. Michelle Bruce is looking to get re-elected to her seat--she’s in a runoff with second-place finisher Wayne Hall from November’s elections. Third-place finisher Georgia Fuller had filed the suit, claiming election fraud. The complaint identified Bruce as "Michael Bruce", and said voters were misled by the female identity.

Transgender Pol Fights Fraud Claims

Bruce. (Photo by R.O. Youngblood)

Four years after she won a City Council seat, making her what is believed to be Georgia's first transgender politician, Michelle Bruce is battling a lawsuit launched by an unsuccessful opponent who claims she misled voters by running as a female.

Bruce, a tall woman with shoulder-length graying hair, said she has always identified herself as transgender.

"I've always been Michelle," she said. "If someone has a problem with that, I can't help them. It's a personal issue."

Bruce, 46, who runs an auto repossession business, launched her political campaign in 2003. Running unopposed, she landed one of four council seats and pledged to attract more jobs and residents to Riverdale, a gritty town of 12,000 about 12 miles south of Atlanta, lined with rundown strip malls and used car shops.

Three rivals ran against her in the Nov. 6 election. She captured 312 votes, not enough to avoid a Dec. 4 runoff against second-place finisher Wayne Hall, who earned 202 votes. Then the third-place finisher, Georgia Fuller, who collected 171 votes, filed a lawsuit claiming election fraud.

The complaint, identifying Bruce as "Michael Bruce," claims she misled voters by identifying herself as female. It asks a judge to rule the November election results invalid and order another general election.

Fuller did not return calls seeking comment, but her attorney said that voters in Riverdale tend to favor female candidates — particularly if they are incumbents.

"It gives her an unfair advantage," said attorney Michael King. "It's not just sour grapes. The people need to know whether the election is fair."

The suit is unlikely to be settled before the Dec. 4 runoff, but Bruce sees it as an attempt to alienate her from voters.

(The Associated Press)

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