Tempe City Council to vote on removing Kolby Granville from office

PHOENIX – The Tempe City Council will decide next week if Councilman Kolby Granville will be removed from office over allegations of sexual assault and providing alcohol to minors.

Following an outside investigation that found Granville probably violated the council’s code of conduct, members decided during a Thursday work study session to determine Granville’s fate at a special meeting April 12.

Granville, who has been on the council since 2012, was fired from his job as a teacher at Tempe Preparatory Academy in December 2017 after two former female students accused him of giving them alcohol when they were underage. One accused him of sexually assaulting after she’d graduated from the charter school, which serves students in grades 6-12.

The school said Granville’s dismissal wasn’t related to anything involving current students.

The Phoenix Police Department investigated the allegations, closing the case in January 2018 because no victims wanted to press charges, according to documents.

The city hired attorney Sarah Barnes to investigate Granville for City Council code of conduct violations. She presented her findings at Thursday’s session.

Barnes said Granville told her never gave alcohol to minors, but he “never unequivocally denied” other allegations she questioned him about.

“It’s more probably true than not that” that Granville violated four items of the City Council’s code of conduct, Barnes said.

The city released the documents related to Barnes’ investigation, including the police report, which includes graphic details.

Granville, who is a licensed attorney, is also under investigation by the State Bar of Arizona and the Arizona Department of Education, Barnes said.

If a seat becomes vacant, the council has the option of appointing a replacement within 30 days or calling for a special election within 90 days, according to a city press release.

The release said Granville has previously been reprimanded for two code of conduct violations related to his interactions with city staff and a resident.

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