Dear Mr. Hogan:
Once again, you are wrong! Dr. Chin has provided me with corrective lenses. I have no “eye” problem. I see quite clearly what you are trying to do.
I appreciate, however, your candid admission that you do not treat and have not treated white public officials like you have treated me. I also appreciate you candid admission that the newspaper supports black people fighting with each other. I took the majority black city council and majority black school board to task and the paper rallied behind me. Taking black people to task was commendable.
I have taken the A & P Commission to task and you have cried foul. The A & P Commission has seven (7) members. I approved (i. e. did not veto) the first membership that included 5 white people and 6 people from what was “Helena.” Now it is “playing the race card” and a cheap shot.
You chastised me and the city about FOIA. You let the Barton School District Administration disregard the FOIA; no questions asked. They hired a superintendent via secret meetings and interviews. You provided no coverage of that matter. Perhaps you have an underlying reason for your actions. I don’t know for sure.
You and your minions have pummeled the city with FOIA requests. How many requests have you made of all of the other governmental entities? I am just about sure that our requests are double the other entities all put together. What is right is right no matter what. Barton’s superintendent is tall, white, wealthy and good looking.
You have the nerve; the shear sinew to say that Jay Hollowell’s derogatory, untruthful and racially insensitive email was harmless. You can’t really mean that. I imagine you fear some loss of advertisement revenue and therefore are keeping the “company line.” Shucks, Jay’s email said that black mayors “lack[ed]control” and “lack[ed] leadership.” Notice that I quoted him. How, Mr. Hogan, is that not derogatory? Perhaps the “eye” problem is within you. Jay is tall, white, wealthy and good looking.
I guess Jay did not tell you about his race baiting and racial decision making processes. During the A & P appointment process that he said “I no longer just look at the color of the skin in making a suggestion as to who should be nominated....” Those are Jay’s words. He proudly owns them.
I am receptive to truthful, honest dialogue about rebuilding our community. Your column, last week, came nowhere near that measure. You simply tried to make it racial because you and the establishment like Jay. That’s fine. But call it what is. I could have written a column without the mention of race that would have supported Jay Hollowell. You did not. Right there you lost the debate about Jay’s worthiness. Rather than pointing out his objective qualifications; the content of his character, you reminded us only that he is white. When race is invoked in such a harsh way, most times logic goes out the window.
You avoided mentioning Jay’s profanity laced email. I guess that was “harmless” too.
Why have you not asked the A & P Commission for the contracts it has in place? Don’t want to embarrass the commission or the recipients? You well know that the A & P Commission is supplementing the income of a couple of organizations in a fashion contrary to the edits of the law. I support the organizations, but, right is right.
My salary is not a political issue. I did the honorable thing. I asked the council to objectively set my salary based upon the performance required. The council took 4 months to do the same thing it did nearly three (3) years ago. I am paid the salary equivalent of the highest paid employee.
I conceded on December 31, 2005, to a reduction in salary from $83,500.00 to $68,000.00. The paper has continuously called my salary a pay raise. Even the recent article on my salary said that I “once again received” a pay raise. That is absolutely false! My salary adjustment to $75,450.00 is yet below where I started on December 31, 2005. Your blind loyalty to superficial matters (like being tall, white, wealthy and good looking) won’t let you see my point.
Finally, you mention other administrations appointing “blacks” and not kicking them off for personal reasons. My memory serves me that the appointments were largely made over the objection of the elected leadership from the black community. Of course, you, being white, loyal to race and seeing only colors; would NEVER UNDERSTAND WHY THAT PRACTICE WAS AND IS OBJECTIONABLE. Heck, the reason for putting those black people on those boards was personal. Those administrations looked for the “good blacks.” Willie Lynch has a story about that.
Also, there is nothing personal about Jay’s removal from the A & P Commission. My vote was based upon the best interest of this community. Watch the A & P commission and the good people on it remain resilient and work for good things to happen in this community.
Some people believe that the paternal and maternal attitudes housed in the mainstream are okay so long as it does not affect them. You act as if you do not know about all of the other appointments to positions that I have made and/or encouraged. I worked with the County Judge to protect a man’s slot on the Port Authority even after he publicly rebuked me (with racial overtones and undertones) and privately rallied against me. I appreciate you lifting me up; it draws people to me.
Honorable Mayor James Valley
MAYOR - Helena-West Helena
