GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — The Gwinnett County commission decided late Tuesday to reprimand one of its members. He referred to Georgia U.S Rep. John Lewis as a "racist pig" in a Facebook post.
The commission received a standing ovation Tuesday after it issued the public reprimand against commissioner Tommy Hunter, who was not present for the vote. His fellow commissioners made it clear they didn’t appreciate his online comments or actions since.
“I'm emotional about this, I'm not going to make apologies for the fact that I'm a little teary eyed right now,” said Commissioner Charlotte Nash.
After the commission voted to publicly reprimand Hunter for his online comments last January, Nash signed the paperwork immediately.
“Gwinnett County deserves better leadership,” said resident Art Smith.
The reprimand came after more than an hour of public comment.
No speaker publicly backed Hunter. Commissioner Jace Brooks voted for the reprimand but said he didn't think there was an ethics violation.
“While commissioner's statements were unacceptable, the world is not a safe zone,” Brooks said.
“I told him at that time I thought his actions and posting were unacceptable,” Brooks said.
Hunter was not present, but his spokesperson issued this statement saying in part: "We now know that mob rule controls the Gwinnett County Commission Board ... Spineless politicians do spineless things."
Whopper of a statement by Gwinnett Commissioner Tommy Hunter’s spokesperson. (Hunter publicly reprimanded by Comm. 2nite 4 online comments. pic.twitter.com/aNo9fWV0oN
— Tony Thomas (@TonyThomasWSB) June 21, 2017
“The differences should not divide us,” Nash said.
Cox Media Group