Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Campaign Conduct topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Longtime resident urges council to denounce 'fear-based' campaign postcard
Summary
Resident Rhonda Bellamy Hodge told the council she received a political postcard she described as fear-inducing and racist, compared Murphy to Dearborn and asked officials to reject that messaging and reflect community values.
Rhonda Bellamy Hodge, a longtime Murphy resident and former newspaper reporter, addressed the council during public comment to challenge a political postcard distributed before a recent city council election. She described the postcard's imagery as "fear tastic," said it used darkened faces and threatening imagery, and said it made her "very nervous."
"It made me very nervous, I want to be honest. I thought it was something promoting, I don't know, a war, a crime in progress," Hodge said, and later asked, "Where did this come from? Where are their facts?" She said candidates who benefited from the postcard had not answered her questions, and urged the council and community to reject that messaging.
Hodge framed the comments as a call to community stewardship, referencing Murphy's demographic changes and urging residents not to accept hate in local political discourse. She brought props to illustrate her remarks—a mirror, a book of faith and a pocket constitution—and said she hoped councilmembers would "take it upon ourselves to think about that and how we're gonna treat each other."
