FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 23, 2020
CONTACT: joe@nhgop.org
CONCORD – NHGOP Chairman Stephen Stepanek released the following statement after Eddie Edwards withdrew his nomination to serve as Director of the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification. After the mistreatment of Ryan Terrell, the Democrat Executive Council’s treatment of African-American nominees cannot go unnoticed:
“The Democrats on the Executive Council, led by Andru Volinsky, have once again disappointed the people of New Hampshire by failing to hold a public hearing for Eddie Edwards’ nomination as the Director of the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification. In an era where the nomination of diverse and qualified candidates should be celebrated, Democrats like Andru Volinsky, Debra Pignatelli, and Mike Cryans ought to be ashamed of themselves for dismissing the qualified nominations of candidates of color as “tokenism” for no reason other than for their own political agenda.”
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“I’m not sure if there has ever been a better example of structural political racism. This is text book discrimination; delaying, redefining, denying, moving the goal post or using a different set of standards.”
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Union Leader: Council rejects nomination of black businessman for state ed board
Rogers Johnson, chairman of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Diversity and Inclusion and president of the Seacoast chapter of the NAACP, called the council’s vote “tone deaf.”
“For me it is really disheartening of a person of any race, creed, color or age to want to serve New Hampshire citizens and to be met with personal feedback on my character,” Terrell said.
“I am saddened by the fact that my wanting to be on the board has translated into a conversation about race.”