Nobody came to speak for Gwinnett County Commissioner Tommy Hunter on Tuesday, and it likely would not have mattered if someone did. After listening to an hour’s worth of speakers call for a public reprimand against Hunter, his colleagues on the board delivered that reprimand by a 4-0 vote.
All of this was the conclusion to the county’s actions to punish Hunter for a series of Facebook posts which went viral early this year. Hunter, among other things, called Democrat U.S. Congressman and civil rights legend John Lewis a “racist pig.” He also lashed out at political opponents, calling them “libtards” and “demonrats.”
Hunter apologized, and for a few weeks he appeared to try to smooth over any hurt feelings. But after a Feb. 14 meeting of the Gwinnett NAACP went off the rails, Hunter largely ignored the protests against him. Only at the last minute did he participate in an ethics investigation into his conduct.
That ethics panel, which Hunter is challenging in court, recommended the public reprimand during its final meeting a couple of weeks ago.
Gwinnett County, under legal advice, did not attempt to invoke portions of its ethics code which would have allowed the county to suspend or remove Hunter from office. Some of the dozens who attended Tuesday’s hearing are determined to do that for themselves.
Georgia law allows voters to attempt to recall elected officials after 180 days have passed in the current term. That period will open soon for Hunter’s detractors.
Jace Brooks, who represents Gwinnett’s District 1, appeared during the commission’s deliberations to oppose the reprimand on procedural grounds, but he voted to reprimand.
Brooks said the intention of the ethics code was to prevent and punish commissioners who might want to enrich themselves through public office. He suggested time and resources had been wasted in the process against Hunter for what was basically a political issue.
District 4 Commissioner John Heard said his main concern was with the economic impact the comments could bring on the county. District 2 Commissioner Lynette Howard took issue with Hunter’s overall judgement, and Chairman Charlotte Nash largely agreed.
Hunter did not attend the meeting, and he would not have been allowed to vote or take part in deliberations if he had attended.
