Pickaway County – A Scioto County trustee is in hot water after being caught on a hot mic using racist slurs and asking to remove a National Holiday from a contract.
During the regular 11/17/23 meeting, everything was going as normal, bills were getting paid, the Scioto Fire Chief reported that he had some extra time and had to take some vacation before the end of the year. Everything was moving smoothly until a discussion of the Union Fire Labor agreement came up and a specific holiday Juneteenth, that became a Federal holiday in 2021.
Trustee Barton Fannin wanted to deny the contract of the holiday, and during a discussion on a recorded mic a racial slur was captured. Trustees can be heard talking about it.
“I did not realize that was a frickin Federal holiday,” Fannin says to the Trustees.
“You know what it means?” said Trustee Ralph Wolfe
“Its a N—– Holiday,” said Fannin
“Whoa,” said Wolfe, “No what it is the southern white folks didn’t tell the slaves that slavery was over. People started talking and in Texas on June 19th, all of the slaves were officially freed over all of the country.”
Fannin then realizes he is still being recorded and asks about it, “Have you shut it off?”
No Yet said Terry Brill the Fiscal Officer-Scioto Township
“You might want to rewind that a bit,” said Fannin just as the Trustees moved to pay bills.
But the recording did not get rewound, and several people went to social media calling for Fannin to resign his position.
In unofficial minutes Trustee John Maynard said that, “These comments are very racist, and he felt that Fannin should resign.”
Fannin has reported that he has not resigned but said that his comments were not directed at anyone and would apologize to anyone who wanted it. Fannin has served Scioto Township for two years so far.
You can listen to the full audio of the meeting here, the comments are made at the end.
