The Franklin County Commission Stonewall

Three weeks after it was revealed that a vocal supporter of Islamic terrorism, Abukar Arman, was sitting on the Franklin County Commission responsible for overseeing Central Ohio Homeland Security (see “Hilliard’s Somali Terror Apologist”) and Franklin County Commissioner Paula Brooks demanded an immediate investigation into Mr. Arman’s said support of terrorism (see “Impacting: Franklin County Commissioner Responds to Somali Terror Apologist Story”), the Franklin County Commission has since clammed up and has refused to respond to repeated media inquries about the matter (see “The Cover-Up Begins”).

Dirk Thompson of 610AM WTVN reports that he has submitted multiple email requests (“Emails to a Non-Responsive County Board of Commissioners”) to Franklin County Public Affairs Director Hanna Greer following up on the supposed investigation into Mr. Arman. He says:

For two weeks I’ve been trying to get one basic question answered by the Franklin County Board of Commissioners in regards to the appointment of Abukar Arman. “Who put his name in for consideration?”

These are the emails that have gone unanswered

He gets right to the heart of the matter by asking the crucial question:

“Who put Abukar Arman’s name forward to be put up for consideration?”

It’s long past time for the County Commissioners to answer that question.

Thompson also reprints his email correspondence (“Emails with an Apologist”) with Abukar Arman this week asking him to appear on his Radio Deli program. Arman refused TWICE to appear to defend his published comments on the al-Qaeda-backed Somali Islamic Courts Union, HAMAS, Hezbollah, and others. First, he says that critics have “cherry-picked” his statements; in his second response, he then complains that statements explaining his support for these terrorist groups has been “deliberately omitted”. Despite Arman’s name-calling and bigotted rantings (see “Abukar Arman Identifies the Zionist Global Conspiracy”), he has steadfastly refused to directly respond to his statements in support of terrorists. That should be of particular interest to those who have been following this story.

People have asked, “What can I do about this?” The answer is simple. Contact the Franklin County Commissioners and demand answers. There are two questions that demand response:

1. When will the County Commission take action to remove Abukar Arman from his positions on the three county boards he currently sits on?


2. Who is responsible for recommending Abukar Arman for these appointments?

Along those lines, the initial response from Commissioner Paula Brooks’ aide RJ Sontag was that she relied entirely on the recommendations of fellow commissioners Mary Jo Kilroy and Dewey Stokes.

But earlier this week, the minutes of the meeting in which Abukar Arman was appointed to the Planning Board were obtained, and lo an behold, it was none other than Commissioner Paula Brooks who moved the resolution appointing Arman and the other members of the Planning Board, which included Commissioner Kilroy and herself. I have provided the copy of the signed resolution 210-05 showing that Brooks was the one to move the motion approving the resolution, and the letter that all three signed informing Arman of his appointment.

Here is the contact information for the County Commissioners and the Public Affairs office:

Commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy (614.462.5589, aide Amy Billerman aabiller@franklincountyohio.gov)

Commissioner Paula Brooks (614.462.5729, aide RJ Sontag rjsontag@franklincountyohio.gov)

Commissioner Marilyn Brown (614.462.3461, aide Laura Stehle ljstehle@franklincountyohio.gov)

Public Affairs Director Hanna Greer (614.462.5848, hmgreer@franklincountyohio.gov)

Here is the original resolution appointing Abukar Arman to the Planning Board, and the signed letter from the Commissioners announcing his appointment. Click for full version.