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DOUGLASVILLE, GA - Longtime Douglas County Commission Chairman Tom Worthan told the FOX 5 I-Team he was only being a politician when he was caught on tape making racist comments about certain African-American candidates for local office.
Worthan's comments came two Saturdays ago during a festival on the courthouse grounds. He had no idea the man he was talking to had a cell phone in his shirt pocket recording their conversation. Otherwise, the longtime Republican might have chosen his words a little more carefully.
"He's being racist," complained Douglas County resident Mark Dodd. "He's not giving black people a fair chance."
Dodd supports some of the black Democrats running for office, like sheriff's candidate Tim Pounds and Romona Jackson Jones, a political newcomer who faces chairman Worthan in November. Dodd said he had an earlier conversation with Worthan months ago at a gas station where he claims the chairman made disparaging comments about those black candidates. So Dodd waited for a day where he could have another talk with the Worthan, this time equipped with a way to prove it.
Here's a portion of Dodd's recording:
Dodd: What are we going to do if Pounds wins and that girl wins? What's going to happen? Be honest?
Worthan: Probably going to have to pack up and get out of here you know?
Dodd: I mean what's going to happen? Be honest. It's just me and the lamp post.
Worthan: Well, do you know of another government that's more black that's successful? They bankrupt you."
Dodd asked again about sheriff candidate Tim Pounds.
Dodd: If Tim was to get it, what do you think would happen?
Worthan: I'm afraid he would put a bunch of blacks in leadership positions.
And less than a minute later, the chairman doubles down on his comments about Pounds.
Worthan: I'd be afraid he'd put his black brothers in positions that maybe they're not qualified to be in. So I'd feel more comfortable with Mike Barnhill myself.
Mike Barnhill is the Republican nominee for sheriff. Worthan told the FOX 5 I-Team he made a big mistake.
"I spoke as a politician, trying to say what I needed to say to get a vote," he explained. "And that's unfortunate. And I certainly apologize for doing that."
"How many more times have you talked as a politician to other people in Douglas County?" I asked. "Hopefully, I haven't said that before," Worthan responded. "I have many black friends, Hispanic friends and no, this is something that I should not have said. I certainly apologize to anybody that I might have hurt their feelings... that's not the way I feel."
Even worse perhaps, Democratic sheriff's candidate Tim Pounds said he was supporting Worthan in his race for chairman, not the black Democrat. He said he thought the chairman was his friend. Now he's not sure what to think.
"It might be one thing if you said I'm afraid he's going to put people in positions who aren't qualified," I pointed out to Worthan. "You said you'd be afraid he'd put black people in positions that aren't qualified. You see the difference?"
"Bad mistake," the chairman admitted. "Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Bad mistake saying that because that's not exactly what I meant."
Pounds said the chairman's comments "hurt my heart" and was too stunned to talk on camera. Worthan also has the support of the Douglasville's first African-American mayor, Rochelle Robinson. She said she's disappointed with what he said, but when Worthan asked her to forgive him, she did.
"He said black people were the problem," Mark Dodd, the man who made the recording, pointed out. "They've never run a government without bankrupting it."
The chairman says he was actually referring to Democratic Party-controlled governments, not black leaders.
"Do you think people should be ready to move out of Douglas County if you lose?" I asked.
"No, I tell you this is a great place to live, work and play," Worthan maintained. "I've lived here all my life. I'm not planning on going anywhere."
Here's the raw video: