Franklin County Commissioner Paula Brooks’ office responded to yesterday’s FrontPage Magazine exposé revealing Somali terror apologist Abukar Arman’s appointment to the board overseeing Central Ohio Homeland Security, “Hometown Jihad: The Somali Terror Apologist Next Door” (see our post, “Hilliard’s Somali Terror Apologist”). Brooks aide RJ Sontag sent the following email to an inquirer:
From: “Sontag, RJ” <rjsontag@franklincountyohio.gov>Brooks sent the following memo to Don Brown, County Administrator, and Karen Crandall, County Homeland Security director, earlier today:
To: “XXX” <[removed]>
Subject: RE: Question
Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2007 16:45:58 -0400
Dear Mr. XXX:
Commissioner Brooks asked that I share this with you. She did not recommend Mr. Arman, and Commissioner Brooks especially relied on the judgment of the other voting commissioners: Commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy and former Commissioner Dewey Stokes — both of whom she thought knew Mr. Arman.
RJ Sontag
Aide to Commissioner Paula Brooks
Franklin County Board of Commissioners
373 South High Street, 26th Floor
Columbus Ohio 43215
o: (614) 462-5729
f: (614) 462-5999
rjsontag@franklincountyohio.gov
To: Don Brown, County AdministratorThis is a positive development, but it remains to be seen if:
CC: Kathy Crandall, Director, Homeland Security and Justice Programs
From: Paula Brooks, Commissioner
Date: July 12, 2007
I expect this to be investigated expeditiously. If true, these allegations are definitely grounds for removal.
- The powers-that-be in Central Ohio rally around Mr. Arman, despite his extremist views, in order to avoid the obvious implication that the very people responsible for our Homeland Security in Central Ohio don’t even have a clue as to what’s going on in our area;
- Anyone actually takes credit for Arman’s appointment. Sontag’s email is an indication that Brooks, despite having voted for Arman’s appointment, is already passing the buck to Mary Jo Kilroy and former commissioner Dewey Stokes. Will it seem that Abukar Arman magically appeared from the heavens and landed on the Franklin County Criminal Justice Planning Board and the Community Planning Commission without any explanation? Or was it secret Franklin County Commissioner and Columbus School Board member Keyser Söze who is responsible for Abukar Arman’s appointment?
