Georgia Town Mayor And Councilman In Hot Water Over Comments On Race

A Georgia mayor finds herself in hot water over her recent comment about race and leadership.

The comments came about because Hoschton Mayor Theresa Kenerly and her office were conducting a job search for an administrative position. After discovering that one of the final candidates was African American, Kenerly made the remark that Hoschton wouldn’t be ready for that.

Hoschton, which is a small town outside of Atlanta, is home to 1,662 residents, 80 percent of whom are white, according to census data.

Councilwoman Hope Weeks backed up the story in a document written in March. She claimed the mayor liked the candidate’s credentials, “but he was black and we don't have a big black population and she just didn't think Hoschton was ready for that.”

Keith Henry, the candidate in question, spoke with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the comments.

"It comes with the territory," said Henry. "If you live in America as a minority you can’t be naive that it is the reality that you face."

Kenerly said in a response statement: “I do not recall making the statement attributed to me regarding any applicant for the City Administrator position, and I deny that I made any statement that.”

Councilman Jim Cleveland did come to Kenerly’s defense, saying that he “understood where she was coming from.” He also wasn’t shy about sharing his own views, saying: “I'm a Christian and my Christian beliefs are you don't do interracial marriage. That's the way I was brought up and that's the way I believe.”

Cleveland continued “I have black friends, I hired black people. But when it comes to all this stuff you see on TV, when you see blacks and whites together, it makes my blood boil because that's just not the way a Christian is supposed to live.”

According to the Jackson Herald, Weeks and other council members have called for Kenerly and Cleveland’s resignations in response to all this.