Albany City Commissioner B.J. Fletcher responds to accusations, boycotters

Mar. 27—ALBANY — B.J. Fletcher laughs now at the irony of her statement.

"You know me; you know how hard it is for me to be quiet," Fletcher, a businesswoman and nine-year veteran on the Albany City Commission, said Friday. "But as all this stuff was circling around me and I wanted so badly to tell my side of the story, God told me to bridle my mouth, to be still.

"Even as people posted untrue stuff on social media, called me names I would never repeat, called my employees to harass them and even boycotted my business, I listened to God, and He said, 'Be still.'"

Last week, though, Fletcher said God sent her a "messenger" who convinced the businesswoman that the time had come to tell "the rest of the story."

"Out of the clear blue sky, a lady called me and said she had some concerns about Concrete Enterprises taking over garbage collection in the city," Fletcher said. "She clearly was determined to find out the facts. So I gave her (Central Services Director) Yvette Fields' phone number and had her talk to Yvette. After she talked with Yvette, this lady, who is a retired school teacher, called me and we talked for an hour and a half.

"She asked me questions about things that others had just listened to and believed the lies that were being spread: She asked me about the 2,700 votes, about being in Washington on Jan. 6 when that nonsense at the Capitol building took place, and she asked me why I didn't speak out."

Fletcher said talking with the retired teacher convinced her that God was sending a message.

"I had prayed to God, asking that He let me know if I should share my story," the city commissioner said. "And, then, as we wound down our conversation, this lady said, 'I think God had me call you ... and it's time you told your story.'"

Fletcher said she's felt a calmness — and a determination — since talking with her constituent. She said she felt betrayed when people whom she'd helped over the years actively joined in a boycott of her businesses and that she was "saddened and angered" that one of the people posting negative social media messages about her and her restaurants and "spreading lies that many in the community believed," was one of her colleagues on the City Commission, Ward VI Commissioner Demetrious Young.

"Now I see, mainly because of events that have happened over the past few months, that this story needs to be told for the good people of Albany: the people I love, the community I love, and the haters," Fletcher said. "They need to hear it. Just maybe, if it will show one person that they were a part of doing someone wrong with no reasoning behind their decision, then maybe we can start to heal."

Fletcher said her announced endorsement of Republican U.S. Senatorial candidate Kelly Loeffler and U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop may have been the start of what turned into a hectic few months for the commissioner. But the fireworks actually started flying when Fletcher, on behalf of the Texas-based group True the Vote, challenged 2,700 names on the Dougherty County voter list.

"That kind of started when I got an absentee ballot in my mother's name," Fletcher said. "I knew that, unless heaven changed its address, that was not right because my mom had been in heaven for two years. I started looking into this, and when others said they'd had the same thing happen to them, that's when I was contacted by True the Vote.

"Unlike what a lot of people have said, this group only tries to get, state-by-state and county-by-county, voter roles updated. They told me the U.S. Postal Service had given them a list of 2,700 Dougherty County voters who had moved. So myself and (former Dougherty County Republican Party Chairman) Steven Brimberry asked the Elections Board to keep the list on hand and if any of these people walked in and voted, they could make their votes provisional and see if they were still certified voters."

Shortly after that action became known, Fletcher said she learned a new word.

"People started sending out social media posts that I was attempting to 'purge' African-American voters," Fletcher said. "I didn't know what that word meant, and when I looked it up I was almost sick I was so mad. I didn't even have the demographics when I took that list of 2,700 names to the Elections Board, but I would later learn that the majority of the people on the list were Caucasian."

After the accusations of vote purging made their way into the community, Fletcher said she was next accused of traveling to Washington, D.C., as part of the group of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol building on Jan. 6.

"Jan. 5 was Election Day, so our regular City Commission meeting was changed to Jan 6," she said. "I attended that meeting but left early to go by my doctor's office and then had to work all day at BJs on Dawson. All of that's on camera. I made a 5 p.m. delivery to a local business; that's all on camera. Now if any of you think I could have done this and been at the Capitol at the same time ... you might want to rethink it. The last time I was in Washington was at (a recent, pre-election) prayer March."

A short while later, Young and others called for a boycott of Fletcher's businesses.

"We had been hit hard by COVID, but I did not lay any of my employees off," Fletcher said. "We slowly built our business up, to 25% and then up to 55%. Then I saw with my own eyes Demetrius Young and one of his cronies out holding up boycott signs near my restaurant. What really hurt my feelings was that there were people I'd helped over the years — representatives of other businesses, ball clubs, organizations — taking part in that boycott.

"We had a sitting commissioner attacking a minority-owned business during COVID. I really wanted to push back then, but the Lord said, 'Be still ... it's not time.'"

Now, Fletcher says, she's discovered who her true friends are and who have been "friends" only when they needed something.

"First of all, I want to say this: The NAACP got on local television and said that I needed to apologize to the people of Albany and be censured," she said. "Well, I say today that the NAACP owes me an apology. But to the people who have stayed with BJs, stayed with me — stayed with truth — you all have humbled me. To the people that came during that raining cold day to support us with the message "We've got your back!" I truly thank you, because you gave me the strength to continue this journey. To the Hope Church that came out, you truly are doing God's work. Thank you!

"And, finally, to the less than 1% of this community that continues to be a part of hate, lies, half-truths and allows past and present leaders of this community to only serve themselves, let me give you a message. Self-control does not always translate into a lack of emotional expression. It is a thoughtful, deliberate response after processing one's emotions. Once the thinking gets clear, that's when one should confront the problem. I would suggest some of you practice self-control. Do research before you follow the leaders. In other words, be still."