The AJC asked Kenerly why she apologized and removed herself from the search for a new administrator if she did not make the comments, as she said in her statement to the AJC. To me, she shouldn’t be apologizing to us, but to the person she harmed and to the city.” “It was, ‘I’m sorry if I caused you guys trouble,’” she said. Powers said she was unimpressed with the apology. It was in my opinion a very sincere apology.” According to accounts from council members, Kenerly said she was “looking out” for Henry because the city does not have a lot of minority residents. The third drove from the Georgia coast at his own expense.Ĭouncilman Jim Cleveland defended the mayor, while confirming many aspects of the story, including that she made a tearful apology in another executive session on March 12. Two of the three other candidates under consideration were local and did not face such an obstacle. He also said Hoschton wanted him to pay his travel, room and board to come for an in-person interview on the promise of reimbursement at a later date, which he considered a red flag. He said he decided to withdraw for multiple reasons, including the fact that he received another job offer near his family in Texas. Henry, who lives in suburban Houston, Texas, withdrew his candidacy shortly after the March 4 meeting and subsequent phone interview with council members. “I am appalled that in 2019 an applicant would not be hired based solely on the color of their skin.” Henry from Council members and then making the comment to the effect that while he is qualified he should not be considered because he is black and the city is not ready for this, she should not be a part of this hiring process,” Powers wrote. “Since she corrupted this entire process by trying to shield the application of Mr. In emails, Powers protested the mayor’s continued involvement in the search for a city administrator. “I do not think it in the best interests of the city (or the individual elected officials) to continue emailing in this manner,” he wrote in a March 14 email. The attorney also warned city officials to stop putting their concerns in writing. “She is not going to speak or ask questions,” attorney Mitchell wrote. “I am thankful for the opportunity to serve the citizens of Hoschton, but this has been one of the most challenging seasons of my life.”Īccording to a series of emails obtained by the AJC, a deal was made between Mitchell and the city’s five elected officials to continue the hiring process that allowed Kenerly to attend, but not participate, in the interviews. Henry was a very professional and qualified candidate who was a finalist for the position of city administrator before withdrawing to accept another position,” she said. Weeks declined to be interviewed on the record, but issued a statement saying she was disappointed in the mayor’s comments about the candidate. “Both of us were just appalled, so we thought we had to do something to stop it,” Powers said. Weeks confided with Councilwoman Susan Powers, and both women agreed to take the matter to city attorney Thomas Mitchell. “She proceeded to tell me that the candidate was real good, but he was black and we don’t have a big black population and she just didn’t think Hoschton was ready for that,” Weeks wrote in an account dated March 4. Councilwoman Hope Weeks said she repeated them to her in the parking lot after the meeting, according to a document released by the city in response to an open records request from the AJC. The mayor reportedly made her comments to a member of the council in an overheard whisper during a closed-door session of the council March 4. Hoschton’s city code reads: “There shall be no discrimination exercised because of race, national origin, color, religion, creed, age, sex … All personnel actions shall be based solely on individual merit and fitness.” Private and public entities, including Hoschton, universally post or have enacted strong employment anti-discrimination statements. Racial discrimination in hiring has been against federal law since passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. “If you live in America as a minority you can’t be naïve that it is the reality that you face.” But as a black man applying for executive government positions in small Southern towns, he said he is not shocked if there was. The candidate, Keith Henry, said he was interviewed by Kenerly over the phone and did not detect bias on the part of the mayor. “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 suggest (sic) prejudice,” she said.
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