City Commission candidates' supporters let mud fly
Sep. 11—ALBANY — With a month and a half left before the Nov. 2 Albany City Commission election that has three seats up for grabs, supporters of some candidates have resorted to less than savory tactics in an attempt to win votes — or, more accurately, to taint the campaigns of opposing candidates.
Former City Commissioner Henry Mathis sent some in the city (including The Albany Herald), copies of an investigative report under the heading "The real Jaden Johnson." Responding to the report, Johnson, who is seeking the Ward II seat currently held by businessman Matt Fuller, pointed out that Mathis had obtained — illegally — a protected preliminary report in an attempt to discredit him. Johnson, after consulting his attorney, sent a copy of the findings from the incident report that showed "the preponderance of the evidence used to determine the following allegations (from the report) to be true: None."
(News outlets like The Albany Herald cannot, by law, print content of a protected report such as the one the newspaper received from Mathis. Those that do are subject to criminal charges.)
Johnson accused Mathis, who is a supporter of one of Johnson's opponents in the Ward II race, Bobby Coleman, of trying to spread false information to discredit him.
"Convicted felon Henry Mathis obtained a copy of a sealed preliminary investigative report from a college in the state of Georgia and left out that the allegations were unfounded in the final report in an attempt to impact the City Commission election," Johnson said.
Meanwhile, incumbent Ward III Commissioner B.J. Fletcher said several of her friends and customers in the African American community have told her of pastors in the black community working against her campaign, even speaking against her from the pulpit, a violation of federal law.
"My question is, where is this hatred coming from?" Fletcher said Saturday. "I've been told by a very reliable source — and by two others in the community who told the exact same story — that one of the pastors in the black community called in one of my opponents and told her she should get out of the race so that there is no division among black voters. I guess he assumes all black voters are going to vote for a black candidate, which is very sad.
"Others have told me of preachers saying they would 'die' before they'd vote to allow me to have a say on how 'their' $10 million is spent. It's just hard to believe. Just as I don't expect all white voters in Ward III to vote for me, I find it disappointing that these people who are supposed to be leaders in the community would be so divisive and try to attack me based solely on race."
Fuller has decided not to seek a second term on the commission, leaving Johnson, former Commissioner Coleman and businessman Adam Inyang to battle for that seat. Fletcher is being challenged by Daa'iyah Salaam and Vilnis Gaines. In Ward V, incumbent Bob Langstaff is being challenged by Colette Jenkins and Rysheri T. Burley.
