By Associated Press
Clarksville, TN – Former Clarksville Mayor Johnny Piper has resigned as superintendent of CDE Lightband after the district attorney filed a lawsuit seeking to remove him and the Clarksville Power Board that hired him. Piper had previously said he would resign July 1, but he announced his immediate resignation in a letter to board members on Tuesday. The board offered the position to Piper in December 2010 in apparent violation of a local ethics law. The board argued the city ethics law did not apply because the board was created under state law. But The Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle reports the board may be improperly constituted under state law because they have too many members. District Attorney John Carney Jr. filed the lawsuit Monday challenging Piper's and the board members' right to hold governmental office.