Fayette County Commissioner Steve Brown lashed out at his colleagues Friday, a day after they voted to unseat him as chairman.
Brown, who held the board's top spot for two years, lost a 3-2 vote to fellow Republican Charles Oddo. The county's newest commissioner Pota Coston served as the swing vote. Coston, the county's first African-American commissioner and lone Democrat, cast her vote with Oddo and commissioner David Barlow. Brown said he was surprised Coston would vote alongside Barlow, the commission's most vocal opponent of the redistricting that allowed Coston's historic election in November. On the day Coston was elected, Barlow referred to Democrats as "demoncrats," for which he would later apologize.
Brown released the following statement on Friday about the vote to unseat him as chairman. Punctuation has been added for clarity.
“It was a surreal moment watching commissioner Barlow, who bashes ‘the Blacks’ in front of his colleagues, saying they are all obese, lacking concern over human life and killing their babies. (They’re) all on government assistance with no work ethic, in addition to his comments that Democrat women, in particular, are all ugly and Democrats, in general, are all demon possessed and evil. … (To) then watch a new African-American Democrat female join forces with him on the creation of new officers, (is) not something you would have expected to see after so much hullabaloo over creating a minority voting district and protecting civil rights.
I have never much (liked) politics, but I can honestly say that it never ceases to amaze and bewilder the onlookers. Life moves on and we must move along with it.”
Reached Friday, both Barlow and Coston appeared stunned upon hearing about Brown’s remarks.
“I have no comment. There’s nothing for me to say,” Barlow said.
Coston also declined to comment on Brown’s remarks but said “I’m looking forward to working with every commissioner on the board. My job is to serve all of the citizens of District 5 as well as Fayette County.”
The commission dustup comes as a contentious legal battle over the county’s voting system heats up. A federal appeals court sent Fayette’s ongoing voting rights case back to a lower court for a possible trial.
The NAACP, which sued the commission and school board several years ago on behalf of a group of black Fayette residents, said the county’s at-large voting system kept blacks from being elected to countywide office. The district judge agreed and ordered the county to use district voting. The county appealed. Legal fees for both sides have exceeded a combined $1 million.
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