Cooper Controversy Over Appointment Who Called Police ‘Homegrown Terrorists’

RALEIGH – Back in December we highlighted a controversial appointment Gov. Roy Cooper made to a state commission. LaWana Mayfield, a Democrat member of the Charlotte City Council, was appointed by Cooper in December to the N.C. Human Relations Commission despite her record of anti-police rhetoric and of being a 9/11 truther.

Beyond her apparent affinity for tin-foil hats, Mayfield directly compared law enforcement officers to terrorists.

Being Black in America under #45 has created homegrown terrorist wearing blue uniforms. #AReckoningIsComing https://t.co/WhUnTJW52T

— LaWana Mayfield (@lawanamayfield) March 26, 2018

Of course, such anti-police sentiments not just a roll of the eyes, but certainly demand consideration from a governor’s office making appointments to one of the State’s most prominent commissions. It is unclear whether the Cooper administration was aware of the comments and didn’t care, or if they didn’t care to even properly vet such appointments.

Either case would be concerning. For some reason it took two months for people to catch on to how inappropriate this appointment was. Now, even Left-leaning editorial boards are asking him to reconsider. So what was Cooper’s response? His Senior Advisor Ken Eudy gave Cooper cover:

“LaWana Mayfield is the longest serving city council member of the state’s largest city. We don’t require the thousands of appointees to state boards and commissions to have the same viewpoints and opinions as the governor.”

The usually Democrat-friendly Charlotte Observer’s editorial board was not buying that, making it clear in a recent editorial.

“[…] But this isn’t about having different perspectives. After all, the clash of contrary viewpoints is vital for any real progress on issues. Surely, though, there are other voices across the state who can express the uneasiness and distrust some communities have with police, yet do it without the kind of bomb-throwing that shuts down critical conversations instead of moving them forward.

Mayfield’s appointment sends another troubling message. It normalizes the kind of inflammatory rhetoric that increasingly pollutes public discourse. It says you’re fine saying destructive things so long as you’re on our team. We already were disappointed at the timid response to Mayfield last year from her fellow Democrats in Charlotte.”

Now Republican state lawmakers are calling on Gov. Cooper to rescind this nomination and stand with law enforcement.

Charlotte Council member @lawanamayfield called cops “homegrown terrorists.” Then Gov. Cooper elevated her to the state Human Relations Commission. I’ve asked @NC_Governor Cooper to stand with the police and withdraw his appointment. #FightTerrorNotCops #NCGA #ncpol pic.twitter.com/igOgUVP2Od

— Harry Brown (@SenHarryBrown) February 6, 2019

More than two-dozen Republican senators have signed the letter asking for Mayfield’s appointment to be rescinded in a sign of respect for those men and women that wear the badge.

Predictably, Mayfield herself is blaming the whole blowback to her appointment on, you guessed it, racism.

So interesting, I don’t remember outrage regarding the Blatant Bias exhibited by Non-African Americans. Thank You for letting US know what YOU really support #CharlotteObserver #AttemptingToSilenceTheONLYVotingBlackFemale #TheyMadBecauseITalkAboutIt #WellIAmMadThatTHEYWont https://t.co/5q0jm8nQ9f

— LaWana Mayfield (@lawanamayfield) February 4, 2019

Forever the victim, even of her own words. What do think? Should Governor Cooper rescind the appointment as a sign of good faith with the law enforcement community?