As of Monday, January 21, 2013
© Copyright 2013
Rockdale Citizen
CONYERS — An opinion piece written by Rockdale Board of Elections and Voter Registration member Jonny Brown has caused concern among some members of the community and prompted the Rockdale Democratic Party to call for his resignation.
Brown, who is the BOE member appointed by the Rockdale Republican Party, wrote the editorial “The Little White Plane,” which is essentially a metaphor for the Rockdale community, in November. It was posted on the website of Edward C. Tracey at www.edwardctracey.com. In the editorial, Brown compares Rockdale County to a “little white plane” that is painted with more black paint over time. Brown draws a direct comparison to changing demographics and the election of more black officials in Rockdale County, and concludes his editorial with the plane being hijacked by “left wing liberals” and crashing.
Doreen Williams, chairman of the Rockdale Democratic Party, issued a statement calling for Brown’s resignation at the Board of Elections meeting Thursday afternoon, calling the commentary racial and stating that Democratic elected officials are under the same obligation as Republicans to protect Rockdale County and will be held accountable by the public. Williams was not able to attend the meeting and her statement was read by a representative.
Several other residents also spoke out about the commentary and asked that Brown step down or that the Board of Elections vote to remove him. If that vote were taken, it would have to be ratified by a Superior Court judge.
Don Williamson, chairman of the Rockdale Republican Party, said Brown’s editorial is his personal opinion and does not reflect the position of the Rockdale Republicans.
In a written response to Williams’ request that Brown step down, which was read at the meeting by Brown’s wife, Lynn Brown, Williamson wrote that “Jonny Brown has a right to a personal opinion as an individual and will continue to do so until (President Barack) Obama signs another Executive Order taking that away as well.”
In addition, Williamson emphasized that Brown is not speaking for the Republican Party.
“Some have gone as far to state that this is a Republican Party problem,” wrote Williamson. “We do not subscribe to the group or herd mentality and maintain that if Mr. Brown wants to state a personal opinion, that is not speaking for the Republican Party in any manner, shape or form.”
Josie Dean, founder of the Rockdale Think Tank and a community activist who was at the BOE meeting Thursday, said she didn’t call for Brown’s resignation but she does believe that Brown’s comments reflect negatively on the Republican Party. When none of the Republicans denounced Brown’s comments, it gave the appearance that they were in agreement, she said.
“Some things he just can’t say,” Dean said. “Freedom of speech is one thing, but when you make derogatory statements like that, it causes confusion.”
Brown did not respond to requests for his resignation Thursday. He could not be reached for comment by press time Monday.
The Rockdale Board of Elections is made up of three members — one nominated by the Republican Party, one by the Democratic Party and one named at-large by the two other members. Brown was named to the board in November 2011 after the Republican and Democratic members could not agree on the at-large member. Those two members, one of whom was Brown’s wife, Lynn Brown, were removed from the board by then-Superior Court Judge Sidney Nation.
Jonny Brown was then named to the board by the Republicans, and Caycie Dix was selected by the Democratic Party. She later resigned to run for Probate Court judge. The Democrats replaced her with Karen James. William Todd now serves as the at-large member of the board.
Todd said at Thursday’s meeting that his objective as the at-large member of the BOE is to be fair and impartial. He declined to make any public comments on the calls for Brown’s resignation.
More like this story
- Republicans speak out against divisive commentary ( February 24, 2013 )
- Rockdale GOP names replacement for Elections Board ( November 14, 2011 )
- Rockdale Election Board seeks ruling from judge ( October 27, 2011 )
- Rockdale elections board moves forward on at-large appointment ( November 22, 2011 )
- LETTERS: GOP, Democrats must find at-large member both like ( June 9, 2011 )
Comments
Elmo 3 months, 4 weeks ago
Seems the same principle should be applied to certain county commissioners and statements made on Facebook.
One would surmise that holding public office completely cancels one's right to free speech abd expression...even though it seems to work only one way in this county.
Instead of a rebuttal opinion to the article, as usual, when one is losing the debate, it's time to play the race card.
Appears that intelligence plays no part in this controversy.
Shart15 3 months, 4 weeks ago
Maybe they will hire the famous Carpenter lawyer who ran for judge in Newton County. Just a thought. She might could use some work so I hear.
Rob 3 months, 4 weeks ago
Oh boy. Let the race game begin, our local agitators like Zo will be out in force on this one. Displaying to the world how ignorant Rockdale County has become. While I defend Mr. Browns right to his personal opinion, and I strongly agree with Mr. Williamson's analysis all of all this, both of these men should know that the Democrat attack machine and their mindless followers will never let this down. If the Republican Party has any hopes of reviving it's image it needs to be smart enough to steer clear of incidents like this. We are not playing playing with normal intelligent adults when dealing with our local Democratic machine. We are playing with race mongers and self absorbed power hungry professional politicians. The only way they know how to win is to cry RACISM! And sadly it works every time...
Rob 3 months, 4 weeks ago
DEMOCRAT Garvin Haynes who probably hasn't been sober for 24 consecutive hours in 20 years is arrested after beating up his lover in his front yard and nobody says a word. The man keeps his position.
DEMOCRAT Oz Nesbitt is arrested for assaulting his wife and smashing her windshield and nobody says a word. He keeps his position.
Jonny Brown writes a personal OPINION piece and ya'll want his head. The hypocrisy here is astounding!
Rob 3 months, 4 weeks ago
I'm sure this post will be pulled and the reasoning will be that this is an "opinion" not backed up by facts. Problem is, you can find both of these arrests in THIS newspaper!
Jesse 3 months, 4 weeks ago
Racism is bad within either party. And I agree with Rob, this is not the image the Republican party needs to be putting out there right now, what was the goal of what Mr. Brown wrote? I've heard a lot of people asking why more minorities don't vote Republican and what Mr. Brown wrote is part of their image problem. I remember seeing what Mr. Nesbitt wrote on his facebook and it was in extremely poor taste also. I guess the difference is he's elected to office by the voters. Mr. Brown was appointed by the Republican Party.
Elmo 3 months, 3 weeks ago
It's obvious to all but the dead that the mission of obama and his democrats is to villify the Republican party in every way possible, and with the help of their lapdog media, they are well on their way. They're trying to set up the 2015 mid-term elections in an attempt to take back the House. If that happens, with obama in lame-duck mode, we will become Cuba overnight.
Now, of the local situation, Jesse says that "...this is not the image the Republican party needs to be putting out there right now...". Cute, but the villification of the GOP is totally a product of the predjudice and hate of the left. THEY are the only ones that feign "offended" by what the GOP says or does. I love it when the leftists try to tell the GOP which image they should portray.
The implication that the left really doesn't want any party to exist, at all, that represents a threat to their hold on power. They want to replace Brown with a black person, all of their comments and actions point to that end, so why is anyone surprised that left-leaning people come up with such asinine statements.
Seems to Jesse that what Mr. Brown wrote is a dire "image problem" but the rantings of Nesbitt are just in "poor taste". Does that make Nesbitt's comments any less vile, any less racist? No, it doesn't. It just makes them described differently by Jesse.
No one seems to want to admit that conservative Americans have the right to a "culture" just like liberals do. Scanning the daily news Nationwide their is no shortage of hate coming from the left toward the right, no shortage at all. But as it goes, the right seems more than willing to give up their culture, so the left can celebrate theirs. But, they call the conservatives "haters".
But the problem comes down to the fact that the Republicans and Conservatives are always the ones who flinch. They don't want to be called "racist" or other names. They want to be "liked". Therein lies their vulnerablility.
Regarding Jesse's comment, " I guess the difference is he's [Nesbitt] elected to office by the voters. Mr. Brown was appointed by the Republican Party.", I would like to point out that Nesbitt was "appointed" by the Democrat party, as I doubt any sane Republicans voted for him. When you have the majority, voting your party is no different than "appointing" someone to the office.
But, given that conservatives have a cowardly phobia about being thought of as "racist", Mr. Brown will probably capitulate and resign. There are very few heroes remaining on the right, at least at "official" levels.
In my opinion, Mr. Brown should say "Hell no", and refuse to resign. Until that sort of thing starts happening, we're headed down a slippery slope to ruin. If you don't turn and fight, the bullies will never leave you alone.
kris820 3 months, 3 weeks ago
lets define racism. Today it is used as a catch-all when we don't like what someone of a different race says. Its a way of ignoring the issue.
Lorenzo 3 months, 4 weeks ago
I'm in agreement with Rob. I attended some of the election parties for our new and re-elected officials. I will tell you that the theme was most definitely "Black People in Power". Oz posts openly on his FaceBook page, Our new Magistrate Court Judge has made no bones in her public appearances she is Black and In-Charge. Mr. Brown's opinion is his own. It's not mine and I'm sure it's not many peoples, but lets at least attempt to play fair kids.
BOCWatch 3 months, 4 weeks ago
Sorry guys, gotta say Brown should be removed, I've said it in detail that the Democrats that made comment at Thursday's meeting are indeed hypocrites calling for Brown's removal with all of the racial remarks from Nesbitt's Facebook account. This really makes them no better than those on the Republican board that are protecting Brown.
However not all of the residents that spoke represented the Democrat party. One pastor that spoke noted that he openly supported Republican candidates in this past election. You will also find Rob's:) friend Zo in the video of these comments which you will find here:
http://bocwatch.org/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=998
This is certainly a black eye to the Republican Party, but then again their appointment of Brown to the board was also a black eye for them:
http://bocwatch.org/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=613
travelingman 3 months, 4 weeks ago
These editorials are getting political. Of course the race card is being played as usual. And as usual it is being dealt from the bottom of the deck. This is hardly news. But before we start slamming Democrips for their antics let's take a look at what the Rebloodlicans have been giving us. For example WigingTON who makes Hello Kitty say Good Bye. Then there's that dizzy Golly Gee Willikers Sarah Palin. Are you kidding me? Ulysses S. Grant who wanted to abolish the Constitution and was himself quite a drinker. The list goes on and on. The problem is that the people from both parties come from the same nest. We also have Woodrow Wilson who was the first to impose income tax, something that even Alexander Hamilton objected to. Then there's Franklin Pierce who was the only incumbent not to get his own party's nomination. I can't tell the difference. It's the same horse with a different saddle.
Lorenzo 3 months, 3 weeks ago
You don't even have a clue what the word relevance means, do you?
Outcry 3 months, 3 weeks ago
True indeed, both parties have suffered from people making ignorant comments, or acts that give their party a bad name. Oz beating on his wife, or Brown making racist statements(one being as shameful as the other) does not mean that the members of their party agree with those actions or comments. However, it is difficult for people of the county to seperate the personal life from the party-affiliation, because the member's character is used in both. My opinion...the Dems should have dropped Oz long ago to clean their image and show a strong standard, as should the Reps do right now.
emetib66 3 months, 3 weeks ago
Rob I have to agree with you 100%.If the shoe was on the other foot and the Democracks were talking about the Republicans there would be nothing said. But them start playing the race card and all hell breaks loose. I'm just suprised Jesse Jackson hasn't showed up yet.
deem 3 months, 3 weeks ago
I wish the people of Rockdale County would grow up - Republicans and Democrats - stupidity at its finest.
AnnaMae 3 months, 3 weeks ago
I agree with some of the the previous comments. What I find interesting is people who are Lib's and others who have not been active in their respective parties are speaking out with half truths. They obviously are just using this as an avenue to try and sway people to their side. I have read post from people who have claimed to be Republicans, but by what they are saying they are definitely Libertarians who are trying to take over the party. What better way to do that but make people look bad.
I attended some of the Board of Election meetings during the time that they were drafting the ByLaws. According to the Bylaws the Party appoint the representative, but the party can not remove the representative. This has to be done by Board of Elections only.
NitetimeinDaytime 3 months, 3 weeks ago
First, I would like to say that I look at Mr. Brown as an individual - who can say whatever he wants to say. If he were the manager at my local restaurant, my mail carrier, or a pastor I would not have any issue with what he said as he is entitled to his opinion. Second, this man is on the Rockdale County Board of Elections. I mean, really people? All this 'white plane'/'black plane' mumbo jumbo is blatant racism and insulting to the people of color in this community, a community he serves. I am not going to play the 'if he was a' game with this at all because ANY behavior such as this by someone in this type of position should not be tolerated.
kris820 3 months, 3 weeks ago
It doesn't matter weather we agree with the writer or not but he does have the freedom to speak his mind. The liberals want freedom of speech for their views therefore they should allow others the same freedom. It is either freedom for all or no freedom at all. If someones comment hurt us it is because we allow them to do so.
LoveIt 3 months, 3 weeks ago
I agree with Nite that ANY behavior such as Brown's in a public position should not be tolerated. This goes for elected or appointed, Dem or Rep, and ANY ethnic background. The time for intolerance is over. I have lived in Georgia all my life and heard hate stated in all kinds of open and "cleverly" disguised ways. By all kinds of people. I have also heard it in northern states and mid-western states. I have heard hate in Europe. It all is the same underneath. We have come a long way to strengthen freedom in America but we still have not learned the lesson of the history of hate by mankind and what hate does to a community. I am embarrassed by the little "essay" Brown wrote. Because he is an appointed official in Rockdale and this is my community. He represents me and acts on my behalf as a citizen of Rockdale. If I was in the position to be able to remove him, I would. Surely there is someone who can do a better job representing all the citizens of Rockdale.
Zo 3 months, 3 weeks ago
please post....Comparing Brown(water boy) to Oz(Coach) is an unfair comparison. That's like asking the water boy his perspective on the game rather than asking the coach. Brown's plane is Brown's plane and he has the right to his plane he just can't fly it on the public's dime. This is a no brainer for him to resign solely because he serves on a “public board” & “public” being the operative word. The ranking Republican, Van Ness, should “publicly” denounce him and support him resigning.
As I watched the BOwatch(Black Only) I was taken to see who the chairman is and let me say Brown ain't got nothing on him. Wow!
I thank all who came out from ALL races (Unity is power).....please post
lakeridge 3 months, 2 weeks ago
Let me tell yall a story about a white MARTA bus.........
KEEP MARTA OUT
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