Emotions flared last night at the NAACP, where County Commissioner Todd Portune answered questions about his jail tax proposal.  Overwhelmingly, members of the Cincinnati NAACP made clear their opposition to a new jail—and Portune made clear that he had to build a facility, even if no one liked it, because otherwise he might get impeached or sued by the Sheriff. 

And if that were to happen, Portune suggested, then the members of the NAACP would lose the opportunity to have the benefit of representation by someone like Todd Portune—who frequently emphasized that the new jail would have much better facilities than currently offered at Queensgate.

This emphasis caused one member to lambast Portune’s entire approach.  She thought it strange for him to stand before a room of African Americans, talking about how nice the new jail would be on the inside, explaining that neither she, nor anyone else in the room, had any plans to become a guest.

Several times, Monica Williams, who tried to bring order to the question-and-answer session, had to take the microphone away from citizens whose anger led to making too many statements instead of questions—and Williams had to cut off Portune with each answer he gave due to time constraints.  On several instances, Portune kept talking despite being asked by Williams to stop, causing some to conclude that he wanted to eat up the clock to avoid further criticisms.

After the event, President Christopher Smitherman reminded everyone that many area leaders have declined to speak at the NAACP, and everyone applauded Portune for coming into a political hostile environment for a hot-button issue.

Portune remarked that the last time he visited the NAACP, the audience consisted of about 15 members.  Last night’s meeting was almost a full house, as new memberships to the NAACP continue to grow.

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