CHATTAHOOCHEE HILLS, Ga. — A local city councilman running for mayor is under investigation after making violent threats against a city employee in a recorded phone call.
During the phone conversation, Councilman Richard “Richie” Schmidt discusses a city contractor who reached out to Schmidt to answer questions about his mayoral run for a city-owned newspaper.
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In the call, obtained by Channel 2 Action News, Schmidt tells City Manager Robbie Rokovitz that he declined to answer the questions, but the city contractor pressed him.
“If she stands up to me again, like the [expletive] she is, I will physically tear her feet off of her because I’m that type of guy,” Schmidt said on the call. “Tell her if she ever acts as if she has some authority over me again, I will ruin her in a public setting.”
He went on to accuse the paper of twisting the truth.
“What part of English does she not understand?” Schmidt asks on the call.
Channel 2 Action News reached out to Schmidt for comment on Tuesday, but has not heard back.
The Chattahoochee City Council met on Tuesday night, where Schmidt addressed the controversy.
“People that know me know that it’s not me,” he said, “and I disappointed my family, I disappointed my community. I said some things that were hurtful, and I probably disappointed some citizens. And I understand that. I do apologize for that.”
Schmidt also said he plans to stay in the mayoral race.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the city’s police department has turned over the recording to the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office.
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