New screed from Reed: Torpy uses 'every negative stereotype in the dog whistle handbook'

Mayor Kasim Reed Statement in Response to Bill Torpy's June 9 Column in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

An Atlanta newspaper columnist continues to peddle the innuendoes, empty threats and false accusations of Miguel Southwell, who was terminated on May 20 from his position as General Manager of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

It is a standard newspaper practice not to report about the "threat" of a lawsuit: Only when a lawsuit is filed does it become news. Yet the AJC’s Bill Torpy falls for the bait with his June 9 column.

Should anyone be surprised that Mr. Torpy is betting on Mr. Southwell, despite my record during six and a half years in office as evidence to the contrary? Referring to Mr. Southwell as a whistleblower is ridiculous, with no basis in fact. Mr. Southwell served in my administration for nearly three years and never filed a complaint or made any of the false allegations he makes today while unemployed.

But the misleading statements don’t end there. Mr. Torpy’s column also refers to airport scandals that occurred more than 20 years ago while I was still at Howard University School of Law. He ignores the fact that these claims, which mirror Mr. Southwell’s frivolous allegations, have been categorically disproven in each and every legal forum in which they have been raised in the past. We have experienced nothing like the current ethical issues involving Houston’s aviation consultant Ben DeCosta, the former General Manager of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, who was appointed by a previous administration, and who I asked to leave.

A quick Google search will show that Mr. DeCosta is involved in a number of controversies at the Houston airport with Mario Diaz, his former deputy at Hartsfield-Jackson, now director of the Houston Airport System. Nevertheless, Mr. DeCosta is the only person Mr. Torpy deems worth quoting in his article.

We have prevailed against every accusation that comes with this kind of breathless "reporting." And, yet, the AJC rarely, if ever, follows up on these loud claims when they are found to be groundless.

Mr. Torpy also goes out of his way to smear former Mayor Maynard Jackson, raise the name of Bill Campbell, and associate me with every negative stereotype in the dog whistle handbook. Angry? Check. Arrogant? Check. Well-dressed? Check. Criminal? Check.

It is distressing to see individuals erode trust in local government by making facile accusations while benefitting themselves. It is equally disturbing to see the AJC give these individuals wide berth to inflame rather than inform.

By my count, Mr. Torpy has now written 21 columns that have attacked me or my administration, trying to show the city in a negative light. I realize this bent of coverage is partly a nod to the newspaper’s anti-city readership base, but it smacks of character assassination and scurrilous imbalance.