An email to the director of Arkansas’ Geographic Information Systems disparaged the residents of Franklin County hours after Gov. Sarah Sanders announced the construction of a 3,000-bed prison in the county.
The governor announced at 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 31, and by 3:30 p.m., Jonathan Duran, with the GIS office, sent an email to his boss, Shelby Johnson, with the subject line “Franklin County town hall meeting.”
The email had a few lines:“Do you think a possible townhall (sic) meeting in Franklin County about the proposed state prison might go a little like this?” Followed by a YouTube link and another line, “They took our land!”
The YouTube link in the email is a montage clip from the “South Park” episode (Season 8, Episode 7) that satirizes illegal immigration. Within the episode, there are town hall meetings, and the attendees are described as “Pissed Off White Trash Redneck Conservative.” The clip dissolves into a vulgar scene.
This email was sent from Jonathan Duran in the Arkansas GIS office to his boss, Shelby Johnson, nearly three hours after Gov. Sarah Sanders made the surprise announcement that a 3,000-bed prison will be built in Franklin County.
“My understanding before [Duran] met us or knew about Franklin County, he just straight profiled us,” said Justice of the Peace Cody Sosebee (District 8, which is the area where the proposed prison is planned). “I think Gov. Sanders needs to ask for his job. It makes her look bad, and that office looks bad.”
The Franklin County and River Valley Coalition obtained the email through the Freedom of Information Act. The coalition was formed as an organized effort to oppose the prison. Sam Watson, who is with the coalition, noted that the email with the clip was the most vulgar.
“I knew what was coming the second I saw it,” Watson said. “Of course, it was a shock to a pretty conservative community that’s already been beaten down pretty badly. Unfortunately, it’s not the last of what we have to release.”
Franklin County Judge Rickey Bowman said he contacted the governor’s office once he learned about the email.
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“I’m doing OK for a pissed-off redneck, and the governor is aware of my disappointment,” Bowman said. “If they’re already making jokes two to two and half hours after the announcement, what kind of jokes were they making before the announcement? They’re making fun of the whole River Valley. We’re proud of our heritage. We’re not white trash. We’ll get pissed off. I’m pissed off right now. I’ll own that right here. But I’m very offended because this shows how they feel about Sebastian, Crawford, Newton, Madison, and Logan counties… just about every county is rural in Arkansas. We don’t deserve to be belittled like that.”
The Arkansas Geographic Information Systems Office manages and distributes geographic data for the state. By maintaining publicly accessible spatial datasets it supports transparency and data-driven decision-making for government agencies, businesses and residents.
The office collaborates with state agencies, local governments and private organizations to ensure consistent GIS standards and practices, reducing duplication and enhancing efficiency.
“This employee’s correspondence displayed a level of poor judgment and unprofessional behavior that are uncharacteristic of his 14 years of public service to the State of Arkansas,” Johnson wrote in a statement. “[Duran] has reached out to Franklin County Judge [Rickey] Bowman to apologize personally, and we have removed him from any further work on the prison project.”
In a statement on Facebook, Bowman acknowledged the apology but didn’t accept it.
“What he [has] done was inexcusable and very offensive,” Bowman said. “I told him, and I quote, ‘You put yourself in this hole, and you will have to dig yourself out of it without any help from me.'”
A message was left at the governor’s office about how she and her employees view the citizens of Franklin County, with no response.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Franklin County leaders decry ‘white trash’ label in email