LaDawn Blackett, an intellectual property and criminal defense lawyer, has been appointed as the interim inspector general for the City of Atlanta following the resignation of Shannon Manigault. She will begin work on Monday, March 3.
Blackett is also a municipal court judge, former prosecutor, and former Georgia state representative. She was selected by Mayor Andre Dickens to fill the post temporarily. City officials said the mayor has executive powers to fill a vacant department head.
A full-time inspector general will be selected after a new seven-member governing board for the Office of Inspector General is named. The board will make an appointment that would then be reviewed and approved by the mayor and Atlanta City Council.
Blackett’s appointment follows the resignation of Shannon Manigault earlier this month. Manigault, the city’s first inspector general who took the role in 2020, announced her resignation on Feb. 17 during a press conference at city hall.
Manigault said her decision to resign was made in part due to an organized campaign by some in city leadership to discredit her and the work of the inspector general’s office.
