Prince William County supervisors rejected a resident’s appointment to a tourism board, citing her arguments that the county’s immigration policy is racist as reason for the denial.
Supervisor Wally Covington, R-Brentsville, had nominated Katherine Gotthardt to the Prince William County/Manassas Convention & Visitors Bureau, but the appointment was defeated 5-3.
Pejorative online comments Gotthardt has written about the county gave some supervisors pause about the appointment.
“The [board] is WAY out of line, has overstepped its bounds, and has used a discriminatory policy for their political advantage as opposed to helping our communities and FIXING problems at the local level,” she wrote in a post on her blog, luxuriouschoices.blogspot.com, on March 19, 2008. “This is racism. This is ethnic cleansing by definition.”
Supervisor Maureen Caddigan, R-Dumfries, took exception to such accusations.
“She does not like our county — she hates our county,” she said.
Gotthardt said Wednesday that she opposed the county’s illegal immigration crackdown, but she had been looking forward to being appointed to the tourism board.
“What I’m disappointed with is, first of all, the [immigration] resolution has really tarnished the reputation of this county,” she told The Examiner. “My being appointed to travel and tourism was meant to enhance the image of the county. I think that’s a positive thing.”
Board Chairman Corey Stewart, R-at large, though, said her comments were precisely why she should not be appointed.
“She can say all she wants about me personally, but she crosses the line when she stigmatizes [our] county as racists, and that, I don’t think, should be tolerated, and is not a trait that we should place in the Convention and Visitors Bureau.”
This is the second time in seven months an appointment has sparked debate among the supervisors — an indication that the county’s crackdown against illegal immigrants is still a heated subject.
Opposition to supervisors’ appointments are rare. John Jenkins, D-Neabsco, said he believed that he has voted against such appointments four times in his nearly 30 years on the board.
In September, Vice Chairman John Stirrup nominated Robert Duecaster to serve on the county’s Human Services Board. Supervisors deliberated in closed session before approving the appointment of Duecaster, who had previously spoken of an “invasion of this county” by immigrants who use “anchor babies” as weapons.