Gwinnett Daily Post
Friday, Dec. 6, 2019

OPINION

Commissioner Fosque should be held accountable in ethics inquiry

Gwinnett County Commissioner Marlene Fosque. Image Gwinnett County website

In regard to the article (“Commissioner responds to ethics complaint, Nov. 29, A1) stating that Dustin Inman Society founder D.A. King did not state an ethics claim, I offer the following:

Commissioner Marlene Fosque turned the Aug. 6 Commission meeting into a political charade aimed at diverting attention from 287(g) to invited speaker D.A. King. After viewing the YouTube video from the meeting, her tirade against King, was inflammatory and demeaning to him.

She has dug in her heels, refusing to apologize for her unseemly behavior. Instead, she hired an attorney, the former head of the Democrat party in Gwinnett County and failed candidate, to try to make excuses for her.

When Commissioner Tommy Hunter made a negative comment on his personal facebook page, (which he took down, and apologized for), Democrats and liberals called for his resignation. The ethics panel reprimanded him and he was also harassed for months that ran into years. He was also reprimanded by peers on the county commission.

Commissioner Fosque is showing her lack of accountability to the voters she represents. There are many (in fact, I would say most) who think that 287(g) is a good policy that helps keep people safe and saves the county money. They do not want the weak, lawless government that she represents.

Not only should she apologize to Mr. King for her rudeness and her untrue words, she should resign from office for putting politics ahead of governing. If one makes a mistake or misspeaks based on false knowledge, the right thing to do is to own up to it, instead of trying to “lawyer your way out of something”.

Soon it will be a matter for the ethics panel to decide, and we will see if a double standard exists in the way that her violation is treated and the way it was handled for Commissioner Hunter.

— Judy Craft

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