| Conservative Alabama based Flashpoint blog takes sharp aim at a Birmingham, Alabama School Board Candidate, Democrat Antwon Womack, who came under fire for falsifying his resume. I have no problem with the general concerns about Womack's character as he indicated that he will stay in the race despite admitting these lies. However, the title of the diary as well as the tone of the commentors troubles me as they equate Womack's problems to be symbolic of the Democratic Party as a whole.
I first had to dispute the notion that Womack, who just simply applied like thousands of others, received a scholarship to Netroots Nation. Womack trying to impress the voters indicated that he had extensive involvement and leadership positions in the local Democratic party. That claim has since been disputed by the Executive Vice President of the Alabama Young Democrats. Womack has never held elected office and does not appear to hold any real positions or influence in any local party organization.
The Flashpoint Blog should have taken a cue from the Caputo Report's much more tamed although firm comments.
On August 25th, Birmingham residents will have an opportunity to send a loud and clear message that local voters care about a candidate's ethics and character. What I'm referring to is the story of Antwon Womack, candidate for District 6 on the Birmingham School Board.
This morning's Birmingham News reported that in the course of his campaign Womack lied about his age, educational background, and residence. As it turns out, Womack doesn't even have a high school degree-pretty ironic given the nature of the seat he is seeking.
After first saying that he would drop out of the race, Womack reversed course later today and said that he will continue his bid for the city's schools board. Astonishingly, Womack says (presumably with a straight face), "My campaign is not based on a foundation of lies. My values are not lies. It's just the information I provided to the people is false."
Is he really serious? Unfortunately, the reputation of our city and our region have been severely tarnished because of the ethical lapses of a long (and regrettably growing) line of local elected officials. Simply put, if Birmingham is to succeed, Birmingham cannot tolerate any more ethically challenged politicians. Let's hope Birmingham voters do the right thing.
This situation and the repercussions should not fall along the usual rhetoric of party line politics. I have no problem calling a spade a spade in this situation just don't call all the cards in a deck a spade.Had this been an elected official or someone with real influence or ties to the party organization or leadership then yes branding this as a party issue would have been appropriate.
Womack certainly has some issues and I hope he can work to resolve them. I think everyone would believe he has no business in serving as an elected official. Luckily I don't think he had made much of an impression on voters where he would have been elected regardless of his missteps being uncovered. |
