Wednesday, July 30, 2008
News Sheriff runoff: Myron's whoppers
Posted by Scott Henry @ScottTheHenry on Wed, Jul 30, 2008 at 2:46 PM
Most skilled politicians have a way of artfully dodging direct questions or providing clever non-answers. Not Fulton Sheriff Myron Freeman. When asked an uncomfortable question (and for him, they're all uncomfortable), he acts as if he didn't understand you and proceeds to repeat his chosen talking points. Or perhaps it's not acting.
During the Atlanta Press Club debate taped on Tuesday, Freeman kept coming back to two claims that were astonishing for the level of cynicism and shamelessness it took to make them.
First, he attacked challenger Ted Jackson for using thousands in public funds to throw a party in a downtown hotel when he was serving as interim sheriff during the six months between Jackie Barrett's removal from office and Freeman's swearing-in. Freeman asked Jackson if he intended to pay back the money.
Jackson, the former head of Atlanta's FBI office, countered that:
- It was a departmental holiday party intended to boost morale among beleaguered sheriff's deputies
- The party cost less than $4,000 for more than 1,000 guests
- The funds came from seized drug money, an approved use under state law
- The party was also intended to introduce deputies to the newly elected sheriff, but Freeman didn't show up
- It wasn't exactly extravagant – there was a cash bar
Freeman never attempted to refute any of these points, except to say Jackson used federal money. Instead, he simply kept repeating that it was improper for public funds to be spent on a lavish party for "Ted Jackson and his friends."
Even more bewildering was Freeman's claim that it was Jackson who was to blame for the March 11, 2005, courthouse shootings that happened after Freeman took office.
As a member of the panel of journalists asking questions during the APC debate, I asked Freeman why, if Jackson had let courthouse security lapse during his brief tenure as interim sheriff, did he, Freeman, not correct the problem when he came into office.
Freeman explained that he had his own advance team check out security at the Fulton County Courthouse during the changeover and "they told me it was fine."
Say what? I'm sure that it's Freeman's years of experience as a state trooper that allow him to say such nonsense aloud without cracking a smile, his body ramrod stiff, eyes looking straight ahead as if standing at attention.
For his part, Jackson isn't a skilled politician, either. At the podium, he seems nervous and a bit tongue-tied. Offstage, he comes across as smart, earnest and professional, if not an electrifying personality. But what do you expect from a career G-man?
The debate will air Sunday at 10:30 on WPBA. The video hasn't been posted yet, but when it is, it can be seen here.
The runoff is Tuesday, Aug. 5. Your options are four more years of ineptitude and wasted tax money or taking a gamble on the FBI's former top man in the Southeast. Choose wisely.
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