Gallatin’s council meeting ended with tears from several members after one resigned and claimed another councilmember, his wife and their friends bullied and harassed her.

District 2 Councilmember Eileen George gave a four-minute statement before public comments Tuesday night.

“Councilman Jouvence, his wife and his supporters have harassed, bullied and abused me with nasty commentary,” she said reading from the prepared statement. “This has occurred through social media posts, text messages, voicemails and even physical confrontations.”

Councilmember Pascal Jouvence, who represents Gallatin’s district 3, denied the allegations Wednesday.

“They’re totally bogus,” he said by phone. “There’s no foundation. No proof. Nobody I know did anything like that.”

George’s statement came after Jouvence urged members to investigate a recent ethics complaint that had been filed against George.

City Attorney Susan High-McAuley said she’d received the ethics complaint against George during the city’s May 21 council meeting. The complaint alleged George improperly forwarded a letter council members received from Holleman Law Group about a new development.

“On April 15, 2024, Councilwoman George forwarded that letter to Jeff Hebb, CEO of Sumner County Realtors in direct violation of the Gallatin city code of ethics,” High-McAuley read from the complaint.

The complaint alleged George violated a provision that prohibits officials from using or disclosing “information obtained in his official capacity or position of employment with the intent to result in financial gain for himself or any other person or entity.”

The allegation being George, who is a real estate agent, has something to gain by this new development.

“Social media claims that I am only in this for personal, financial gain, urging people to follow the money and suggesting that my partnership, Golden Girls in Real Estate, is about the money we earned,” George said Tuesday night.

The council ultimately found the complaint had no merit and decided not to investigate.

Jouvence said Wednesday that he brought the complaint back up Tuesday night because he felt it did have some merit based on his own independent investigation.

“We can’t ask our constituents to follow the rules if we’re not going to follow the law,” he said.

George also said she’d been called to court for conspiring to “sabotage a business license for Michelle Jouvence,” the councilman’s wife. She denied these claims.

Jouvence claimed George was not called to court on conspiracy claims, but rather as a witness in a criminal complaint against a man accused of stalking his wife. To Jouvence’s understanding, George had conversations with the suspect connected to the stalking allegations.

In her statement Tuesday night, George denied any meetings outside of the council chambers with the man and said she had “no knowledge of his business ventures or anyone else’s business ventures.

“My health and well-being must be protected, and I am the only one responsible for it,” she said. “I need to take care of myself right now personally, professionally, physically and mentally. I am not a quitter, but I will pursue a more peaceful roll in my life.”

Mayor Paige Brown choked back tears as she responded to the allegations.

“I don’t believe it’s our whole town. It’s not the character of our town,” Brown said. “Social media has empowered a lot of people to be very outspoken and not think about the impact of their words and actions.”

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Gallatin councilmember Eileen George resigns, claims she was harassed