Community comments on commissioner’s controversial posts during county meeting

By Stephanie Santostasi

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    HENDERSON COUNTY, North Carolina (WLOS) — The Henderson County commission met Wednesday for the first time since one commissioner’s social media post was called into question.

Commissioner Daniel Andreotta recently posted a meme on Facebook that some in the community call racist. It read: “Two ways to make a slave: Work him without pay or pay him without work.” Andreotta shared the post, writing “TRUTH” alongside a firework emoji. It has since been deleted.

Many in the community want the commissioner held accountable for the post, with some even calling for his resignation.

“Commissioner Andreotta demonstrates that when we have people in power with these stereotypical ideologies, they are either blind to how their perspective and decisions impact those in oppressed areas and marginalized communities or they just do not care,” said Leslie Carey, who spoke against Andreotta on Wednesday. “If this board does not disavow consistent behavior he demonstrates, we almost assume you condone it.”

Carey wasn’t the only person who spoke against the commissioner.

“I’d love to dialogue with you because what I say to you and your picture is – ‘back at you!’ You have to know one in order to be able to do something of this caliber. It takes one to know one, OK,” added another community member.

Not everyone at the meeting Wednesday spoke against Andreotta, though. There were also several in attendance who spoke in support of the commissioner.

“Slavery is not — it is not a color. There are people all over this world who are being enslaved in both of the ways that Mr. Andreotta had pointed in the meme on his Facebook page,” said Dorothy Callaway, an Andreotta supporter. “I think it’s ridiculous that we have this many people here for this particular meeting because of a Facebook meme.”

Dennis Justus also spoke before the commissioners.

“This is about manipulation of people. This is not about just a rebuke. Some of them have some valid points. This is about trying to take a man out of power,” he said.

After the comments from the public, Commissioner Andreotta addressed those in attendance, saying he did not create the meme.

“It did not originate from me,” he said.

He then expressed his apologies to anyone who may have been offended by it.

Watch the county’s Vimeo account for the full upload of Wednesday’s meeting.

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