Colleagues continue call for PB alderman to resign

PINE BLUFF -- Uncertainty surrounds the Pine Bluff City Council meeting tonight as four black aldermen have said they don't want to work or vote alongside the lone white alderman because of what they contend was his intentional use of a racial slur on social media.

Among other business, the council is scheduled to discuss a proposed ordinance that would require all uniformed workers to live within city limits, and to set up an account for a $250,000 grant for University Park.

Pine Bluff Mayor Debe Hollingsworth said the grant is in danger of being lost if action is not taken to secure an account for it soon.

Aldermen George Stepps, Glen Brown Jr., Glen Brown Sr. and Thelma Walker left the last council meeting on April 20 to protest against Alderman Bill Brumett. They want him to resign, but he has said he has no plans to step down.

Glen Brown Jr. said Friday afternoon that there are no formal plans in place to walk out of Monday's meeting but stopped short of saying nothing would happen.

"[Brumett] has lost the public trust, and he needs to resign," Brown said. "I and others on the council really feel like we cannot work with him anymore. This is just something that isn't going to blow over."

Five aldermen must be present to take official votes.

After the aldermen left the last meeting, there were not enough council members left to vote on pending legislation and other city business. Alderman Steven Mays was unable to attend the meeting, and only Aldermen Lloyd Holcomb Jr., Charles Boyd and Brumett remained.

The action came just two weeks after the City Council unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in Brumett at its April 6 meeting.

Walker said Friday afternoon that she and her colleagues understand the importance of holding meetings and assured that "we will not let this city's business go unattended."

Walker added that she "doesn't feel comfortable with [Brumett] and never will. It's time for him to go."

David Schoen, an attorney with the Arkansas Municipal League, said that there is no way to force a City Council to meet unless a lawsuit is filed, in which case a judge could order a meeting.

Hollingsworth has condemned the use of a racial slur but has not said whether she thinks Brumett should resign.

Instead, the mayor said that she is concerned about moving forward with the city's business.

Brumett has apologized for typing the word "coon" during a Facebook debate with Pine Bluff native J.C. Cunningham over city issues. The alderman said he became agitated that Cunningham kept misspelling his name and decided to intentionally misspell Cunningham's name out of frustration, unintentionally typing "Cooninham," when he meant to type "Cuuningham."

In a statement, Cunningham said he "cannot imagine sitting at a computer and typing a form of someone's last name and using a racial slur without realizing it.

"The insertion of such words would be automatically clear to me," the statement continued. "Mr. Brumett should have been keenly aware that more than a misspelling had occurred in his sentence."

The word has a long history as a racial epithet, and many in the majority black city -- including members of the local chapter of the NAACP -- have met to protest Brumett and are asking for his resignation. There are also efforts underway for a recall election by voters in his Ward 3.

Brumett has said he wants to move forward with city business and will not comment further on the issue. He took office in 1996 and is the City Council's longest-serving member.

State Desk on 05/04/2015

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