Sullivan defends the Republican Party from Frost-bite

Last night, the Executive Committee of the Coweta County Republican Committee accepted the resignation of its chairman Brant Frost V and elected Nina Blackwelder as the new chairperson. 

As reported here and elsewhere, Mr. Frost worked with the failed First Liberty Building and Loan company which is in receivership as part of a Ponzi scheme investigation. 

It seemed that any article or reports about the First Liberty situation, are sure to mention that Mr. Frost was Chairman of the Coweta County Republican party before mentioning what position he held with the company in question. 

In a recent nearby news story, there was an entire paragraph about how the Frost family may have donated some of the funds in question into political causes before the last sentence stating that the person in question (Fayette County Board of Education member Hough) did not receive any donations from the Frosts but was involved with First Liberty as a development director. 

Some people reasonably argue that Mr. Frost has not been charged nor convicted of a crime which is true.  However, when every mention of First Liberty seems to also mention the Frost’s political activity it is hard to believe that the constant linking of First Liberty’s legal trouble and his position in the Republican party is good for the reputation of the party, or its members who are not accused of wrongdoing. 

It has been reported that there are over a hundred families who are victims of the alleged Ponzi scheme. But what hasn’t been made clear is that some of these families are also members of the Coweta County Republican Party.

To be transparent, I have regularly attended meetings of the Coweta Republicans since I moved to East Newnan about one year ago. I never once, heard First Liberty mentioned at the meetings. In fact, while I have discussed issues (related to public education funding) with both Mr. Frost (Brant V) and his father (Brant IV), I never had any clue of what business they were in. 

At my very first meeting, there was a speaker who was making a presentation about school taxes. He made statements that I knew to be incorrect and raised my hand to share. The speaker and I had an exchange of thoughts and later spent an hour in the parking going over how school funding is calculated and communicated. A good exchange of information.

That reminded me of my first PTC candidate forum where I spoke on ESPLOST I. Leaving the Wyndham, I ran into former PTC Mayor Steve Brown who I had been exchanging information on ESPLOST I on these very pages. While I braced for an unpleasant exchange, we stood near his white pick-up truck with the no SPLOST sticker for an hour and a half exchanging thoughts and information in a respectful manner. Again, neighbors talking to neighbors.

Similarly, I have had robust discussions with Mayor Kim Learnard from time to time, particularly about our opinions over multi-family housing in Peachtree City and lately HB 581. While we disagree, we were able to do so agreeably.

Over the past year, I have been impressed by the number of people involved with the Coweta County Republican Party. Most are not elected office holders or people wanting to be elected but rather people who want to be involved with issues in their county that reflect their values. Besides the school funding presentation there have been others such as the recent presentation on how to understand and possibly appeal your property taxes. 

If you are interested in learning more, or seeing for yourself, monthly meetings are every second Saturday at 10 am (10:06 Neil Standard Time) at Coweta Community Church. All are welcome.

At this point, many reading these comments will think that they know of a (insert political party) who was less than pleasant, and argue that therefore, they have a right or obligation to answer in kind or worse. But do they? 

Unfortunately, today, politics has become a blood sport on all sides. It is no longer good enough to counter the other side’s argument, but it seems many seek to discredit and destroy the neighbor that doesn’t agree with a position. I am certain that some of those in attendance were there to see the downfall of a political enemy and that is sad.

The situation with First Liberty is disturbing and I look forward to seeing the receiver’s report. Then, if warranted, charges filed, and trials held. I hope justice is served and the victims are compensated. However, this had nothing to do with politics nor the efforts of many neighbors seeking to support a political party that represents their values and beliefs.