Gwinnett County Commissioner Marlene Fosque. Image Gwinnett County website

January 27, 2020

Re: Findings and Recommendations from the Gwinnett Ethics Board

First and foremost, I thank God for His grace, mercy and for being with me throughout this matter.

I would also like to thank the members of the Gwinnett Ethics Board panel for their time, patience and consideration in the hearing process and in their deliberations.

A special heartfelt thank you to my attorney, Mr. Steve Reilly of Andrew, Merritt, Reilly & Smith, LLP for representing me with excellence, patience and tenacity.

Of course, I have to thank the countless residents across Gwinnett County and Georgia who prayed for and supported me during this process.

I will continue to move forward compassionately in striving to represent with grace, dignity, and wisdom all of our District 4 constituents and all other Gwinnett County residents as we fully embrace our County’s tagline, “Vibrantly Connected.”

Sincerely,
Marlene Fosque

We Are Much Better….Working Together
Marlene Fosque, MPA
Commissioner, District 4
Marlene.Fosque@gwinnettcounty.com
770.822.7004

https://twitter.com/i/status/1220494557323853824

Image: Gwinnett Daily Post

Ethics board sustains two of six points in complaint against Gwinnett commissioner Marlene Fosque; warning recommended

January 27, 2020

The complaint was in response to remarks Fosque made about Sheriff Butch Conway inviting King to participate in a 287(g) forum that the commissioner hosted in July. Conway was tasked with providing three pro-287(g) panelists for the event. More here.

Gwinnett County Commissioner Marlene Fosque. Image Gwinnett County website

Gwinnett County Commissioner Marlene Fosque. Image Gwinnett County website

Click on page to read full Ethics Board Decision.

Gov Brian Kemp – photo, Facebook

Brunswick News
January 25, 2020

Letters to the editor

Kemp has yet to take action on illegal aliens

I still recall days of old when bold politicians called for reforms to protect the people of Georgia from illegal aliens. Unfortunately, as I repeatedly read stories in the press about rapes of women and children, murders and robbery, my memory brings back then candidate Gov. Brian Kemp’s promise to “track and deport” criminal aliens in Georgia.

I suppose the governor hasn’t had the time or the inclination to follow through on his promise, or was it just a politician pandering to his base? Perhaps the governor’s staff isn’t keeping him apprised of the seriousness of the current situation?

I didn’t have to look too hard to find some recent statistics for criminal aliens lodged in Georgia’s prisons. Here are the numbers and crimes for November 2019, compliments of the Georgia Department of Corrections:

• Child molestation, 234.

• Murder, 162.

• Rape, 127.

• Aggravated assault, 116.

• Armed robbery, 110.

• Statutory rape, 63.

• Kidnapping, 63.

• Trafficking meth, 137.

• Racketeering, 12.

I imagine the heads up at the governor’s office will roll when he finds out just how bad things have become in regard to criminal illegal aliens. Or will they?

The governor certainly has it within his authority to implement the plan he ran on.

Robert M. Trent

St. Marys

Here.

Gwinnett County Commissioner Marlene Fosque. Image Gwinnett County website

(January 29, 2020)
Mr. King,

Attached are the minutes of the January 27th meeting, which are also posted on the Ethics Board website. I will timely respond to your request for the transcript in a separate email.

Thanks,
Julie

Julie Mims | Legal Manager, Law Department | Gwinnett County Government
770.822.8716 | 75 Langley Drive, Lawrenceville, GA 30046 | www.gwinnettcounty.com

—–Original Message—–
From: D.A. King Sent: Tuesday, January 28, 2020 5:33 PM
To: Mims, Julie <Julie.Mims@gwinnettcounty. com>
Subject: OPEN RECORDS REQUEST Transcripts of Ethics Board hearing and meeting

CAUTION: This email originated from outside of Gwinnett County Government. Maintain caution when opening external links/attachments.

Ms. Mims,

Please regard this note as my official open records request for a copy of the transcripts of the January 23, 2020 Ethics Board hearing as well as the January 27, 2010 meeting in which the decision on my complaints was announced.

Thank you,

D.A. King
404-

Gwinnett County Commissioner Marlene Fosque. Image Gwinnett County website

AJC
January 27, 2020

The Gwinnett County ethics board delivered a split decision in the case of Commissioner Marlene Fosque, sustaining two of six allegations brought against her and recommending she receive a written warning.

Fosque’s colleagues on the Board of Commissioners will have the final say on any punishment tied to the ethics complaint, which was filed last fall by anti-illegal immigration activist D.A. King.King accused Fosque of defamation and several other ethical violations in connection with statements she made about him in a public meeting.

King participated in a panel discussion Fosque organized last July on a federal immigration enforcement program known as 287(g). During a commission meeting a few days later, Fosque called King “someone known for spewing hatred and bigotry and racism” and said she regretted that he had participated.The ethics board heard the case last week and issued its recommendation on Monday.

The panel rejected King’s defamation claims but upheld other counts based on sections of the county’s ethics ordinance that urge officials to give their duties “earnest effort and best thought” and to “never engage in conduct which is unbecoming” to their office.“While the commissioner testified that her comments were not intended to reflect her personal beliefs regarding Mr. King … her choice of words and the manner in which she delivered them at [the subsequent commission meeting] can reasonably be interpreted otherwise,” the ethics board wrote in its findings.

In a statement issued Monday afternoon, Fosque thanked the ethics board for its time and said she would continue striving to represent her constituents with “grace, dignity and wisdom.”King said Fosque’s recommended punishment did not go far enough, comparing this result to the only other time Gwinnett’s ethics board convened.

“From the outset, many of us were anxious to see who is the most equal in Gwinnett County politics,” King wrote in an email to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We have our answer.”

In a 2017 case, Gwinnett Commissioner Tommy Hunter was publicly reprimanded after writing Facebook posts that, among other things, called U.S. Rep. John Lewis a “racist pig.”

The ethics board found that Fosque, a Democrat, violated the same behavior-regulating tenets that Hunter, a Republican, did in his case. But the written warning recommended for Fosque would be a lesser punishment than the reprimand Hunter received.

The ethics board wrote that it “relied on various mitigating factors” in recommending the lighter punishment for Fosque, “including what it believes were the commissioner’s good intentions in holding the [original immigration] forum.”Gwinnett’s ethics ordinance was established in 2011 in the wake of a bribery scandal and was intended to target corruption and conflicts of interest. Ethics experts have questioned the portions of the law that were used in the Fosque and Hunter cases, which can be interpreted to police other behavior.

Under the ordinance, the Board of Commissioners must consider the recommendation and hold a final vote on the case within 30 days.

Here.

Gwinnett Sheriff Butch Conway – CSPAN

Press Release

January 28, 2020

Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office
2900 University Parkway Lawrenceville, GA 30043
Sheriff Butch Conway

January 28, 2020
Media Release #20200128
Deputy Shannon Volkodav – Public Information Officer
E-mail shannon.volkodav@gwinnettcounty.   com
Phone 770-822-384

Statement from Sheriff Butch Conway:

It has been an honor to serve the citizens of Gwinnett County as their sheriff for 24 years. My office employs the finest staff in the state of Georgia and I’m proud of the many accomplishments we’ve achieved together.

My decision to not seek re-election was not made easily, but I have reached a point in my life where I desire to pursue other opportunities which will afford me more time with my family, who recently suffered a great loss.

I hired Chief Deputy Lou Solis two years ago with the intention of preparing him to succeed me. Chief Deputy Solis has worked exhaustively over the past two years to familiarize himself with our operations. His work ethic is unparalleled and his contributions to our office are great. He has demonstrated outstanding leadership time and time again.

I am certain that Lou Solis will continue to make the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office a standout. We routinely receive visitors from other agencies across the country who seek to implement our programs in their jurisdictions. Programs like Operation Second Chance (Jail Dogs) the Gwinnett Re-entry Intervention Program (GRIP), the 287(g) program and the new veteran’s therapeutic program (The Barracks) are sprouting across the nation because we started them right here in Gwinnett. The benefits to our county are immeasurable and we take great pride in seeing similar programs benefit other communities nationwide.

I thank the many faithful supporters who placed their trust in me election after election over the past two decades. I will always be thankful for the opportunity you provided me to serve as your sheriff and hope the positive contributions we’ve made together will continue to benefit our community for many years to come.

Rep John Lewis. Image: HuffPost

Tommy Hunter complaint 2017      

Gwinnett County Commissioner Marlene Fosque. Image Gwinnett County website

Section 54-24-(2) – Put loyalty to the highest moral principles and to the county above loyalty to persons, party, or a county government department.”
SUSTAINED

SECTION 54-24-(11) – Requires that all County Commissioners shall “…never engage in conduct which is unbecoming to a member or which constitutes a breach of public trust.”
SUSTAINED

SECTION 54-24-(16) – Requires all County Commissioners shall …uphold these principles (of the Ethics Code), ever conscious that public office is a public trust and is an honor, not a right.”
NOT SUSTAINED

OCGA 45-11-4 and requested referral to the Solicitor or any criminal authority under section 54-38-(b)(5)
WITHDRAWN and NOT SUSTAINED

2017 ETHICS BOARD RECOMMENDATIONS (for both of the sustained violations): “ The Ethics Board recommends that the Board of Commissioners issue a written reprimand to Commissioner Hunter pursuant to Section 54-38-(d)(1) of the Ethics Code. The Ethics Board further recommends that the written reprimand be publically delivered to Commissioner Hunter, that it be posted on the County legal organ, and that it be publically posted in the County Courthouse.
–

The Board of Commissioners with Charlotte J. Nash as Chairman voted 4-0 (unanimous) to sanction and reprimand Commissioner Tommy Hunter.

A RESOLUTION TO PUBLICLY REPRIMAND COMMISSIONER TOMMY HUNTER FOR VIOLATING THE GWINNETT COUNTY CODE OF ETHICS As adopted by the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners June 20, 2017. Here.

AJC “timeline” coverage here.