Athens for Everyone has issued a statement listing local candidates who oppose the Clarke County sheriff’s office cooperating with Immigration & Customs Enforcement. 11 candidates running for the Athens-Clarke Mayor and Commission join in issuing the statement urging the Sheriff’s Office to overturn its policy of cooperating with ICE in the effort to detain and deport people based on their immigration status.
They are: Keely Girtz, Richie Knight, and Antwon Stephens in the Mayor’s race. Those running for commission include Patrick Davenport, Mariah parker, Melissa Link, Tony Eubanks, Tim Denson, Russell Edwards, Ovita Thornton, and Tommy Valentine. The Sheriff’s Office is voluntarily collaborating with ICE by holding persons without a warrant, using a “detainer request”. That allows local law enforcement to hold people without documentation for 48 hours. The full text of the statement is available on our website, wuga.org.
“As candidates and elected officials for the Athens-Clarke County Mayor & Commission, we strongly believe in creating a safe and inclusive community for all who live here. To that end, we wish to show our unity in opposition to the Sheriff’s Office’s policy of voluntary cooperation with Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), implemented in July 2017. This policy of honoring ICE detainer requests breaks up Athenian families, opens the county to costly lawsuits, and erodes trust in law enforcement. We urge the Sheriff’s Office to make our community safer, ease our children’s fear, and protect our government from legal action by reversing this policy of voluntary cooperation.”
Kelly Girtz, candidate for Mayor
Richie Knight, candidate for Mayor
Antwon Stephens, candidate for Mayor
Patrick Davenport, candidate for District 1 Commissioner
Mariah Parker, candidate for District 2 Commissioner
Melissa Link, candidate for District 3 Commissioner
Tony Eubanks, candidate for District 3 Commissioner
Tim Denson, candidate for District 5 Commissioner
Russell Edwards, candidate for District 7 Commissioner
Ovita Thornton, candidate for District 9 Commissioner
Tommy Valentine, candidate for District 9 Commissioner
