Gwinnett's Board of Commissioners is likely to hear Tuesday night from more protesters demanding the resignation of Tommy Hunter, the District 3 leader that recently called U.S. Rep. John Lewis a "racist pig" on Facebook.
The Gwinnett County Democratic Party and another group called United Together 2017 have both issued calls to action to their supporters, urging them to show up at the board meeting scheduled for 7 p.m.
The meeting was scheduled for commissioners to address a number of rezoning issues and other matters. A public comment period will be held afterward.
“Unfortunately, Mr. Hunter did not heed our calls to resign immediately,” Gwinnett Democratic Party chair Gabe Okoye wrote in his email to followers. “So, the struggle goes on.”
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Dozens of protesters — many carrying signs urging Hunter to resign — spoke at the board of commissioners' meeting on Jan. 17, a day after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published screenshots of several of Hunter's Facebook posts. In the same post in which he called Lewis, a civil rights icon, a "racist pig," Hunter referred to Democrats as "Demonrats."
Hunter wrote his post on the afternoon of Jan. 14, amid a well-publicized feud between Lewis and then-president-elect Donald Trump.
Hunter has conceded that the “racist pig” comment was “probably an overreaction out of aggravation” and later apologized for his “choice of words.”
“John Lewis is a leader in the civil rights movement and is to be commended and emulated,” Hunter read, in part, in a statement at last week’s meeting. “That doesn’t mean I’ll always agree with him politically. I will not allow baseless accusations of racism against me or anyone to keep people from speaking up when something is wrong. I’ve learned a lot from this and will continue to work hard to serve all of District 3 and the people of Gwinnett County.”
Board of Commissioners Chair Charlotte Nash has personally apologized to Lewis for Hunter's actions, and fellow commissioners Jace Brooks, John Heard and Lynette Howard have also denounced his comments.
Hunter was first elected to serve District 3, which covers a large and diverse swath of southern and eastern Gwinnett, in 2012 and narrowly won re-election in November. He has said he won’t resign, but groups like the Gwinnett Democratic Party have continued to insist he do so.
United Together 2017, which also has urged followers to protest Tuesday night, is led by local Democrat Donna McLeod, who lost her bid for Georgia House District 105 by just over 200 votes. That district is partially in Hunter’s commission district.
“Keep up the pressure,” the subject line of McLeod’s email read. “Tommy Hunter must go!!”
Tuesday’s meeting will be held in the auditorium of the Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center in Lawrenceville.
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