GA mayor says city “isn’t ready” for a black employee, councilman agrees, saying as a Christian he’s against mixing races
HOSCHTON, Ga. (AP) — The mayor and a council member in a mostly white north Georgia city are facing calls to resign over racially charged comments.
At issue is how Mayor Theresa Kenerly treated a black candidate for the city administrator job in Hoschton.
In documents released by the city, Councilwoman Hope Weeks wrote that the mayor told her Keith Henry was a good candidate “but he was black and we don’t have a big black population and she just didn’t think Hoschton was ready for that.”
Kenerly said she doesn’t recall saying that.
According to census data, Hoschton is 84.6 percent white and the black population makes up 3.5 percent of the city. At last count, the city had 1,782 residents.
At a tense city council meeting Monday, Councilwoman Susan Powers called for resignations of the mayor and her fellow Councilman Jim Cleveland.
Cleveland earlier told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he abhors interracial marriage because he’s a Christian.
Photo Credit: kmov.com/City of Hoschton webtsite