C ounty Attorney Mark Williams sent a memorandum dated April 8 at the request of County Mayor Dennis Hunt to update the County Commission on the results of his investigation into alleged misconduct by Commissioner Joe Mike Hodge that potentially could have led to ouster proceedings.

The memo, shared by Hunt to local media, concludes that while Hodge allegedly conspired to remove documents from the Mayor’s office through improper means, the fact that the documents, left from the Late Mayor Judd Matheny’s term, were not actually removed and did not constitute reasonable cause that would rise to the level of a clear case of official dereliction.

“It was not clear to me that the actions of Commissioner Hodge up to the point the effort was discovered would rise to the level articulated by the courts to justify his removal from office,” Williams writes.

Williams further calls Hodge’s alleged actions “simply a mistake in judgement.”

He also concluded that an ouster suit would have been an expensive distraction from the effective operation of the county.

“After considering the facts as applied to my understanding of the law… the burden of proof required … and the potential cost to the county… I chose to take no action and not to file a suit seeking the removal of Commissioner Hodge,” Williams writes.

Ouster proceedings can only be instituted by the Attorney General, the District Attorney General or county or city attorneys. Neither the County Commission nor the County Mayor are authorized to institute the action, according to Williams.

District Attorney General Craig Northcott told the Times that he had advised Hunt and Sheriff Chad Partin in March of 2025 that no crimes were committed.

“Because there had not been a crime committed at that point, that it was simply an issue of Mayor Hunt’s office policy not being followed to his satisfaction,” Northcott said.

“Anything other than trying to resolve it with Joe Mike Hodge, even if it resulted in a technical crime, there would be no prosecution because they could have avoided it.”

On May 13, 2025, the County Commission held an executive session, and following that meeting, a majority of the members voted to task Williams with investigating Hodge’s possible removal.

This is a breaking story. Any comments from Hodge’s Attorney will added.