The thing I love most about politicians is if you hand them a microphone and ask them for a statement, in a matter of seconds, they will probably make themselves look worse than any posed question could. Last night, just this happened.

Alpharetta High School hosted a debate for the Alpharetta Mayoral candidates. With the election in less than two weeks, it’s no doubt that tensions are running high. Candidates look exhausted and stressed. But all of these things are normal with an election.

What is not normal?….Watch this video. This is the closing statement from Candidate Doug DeRito.

It’s true that Candidate Belle Isle had to leave early to attend another event. Mr. DeRito harped on this in almost every response of the evening – in between making unsubstantiated digs at his former Co-Councilmember- so much so that it took away from his responses to the questions asked. It’s distracting when he says things like “…and our missing candidate who’s not here no longer”.

And how about the moment at which he points to me in the front row and says, “And I know you’re filming this, so you can tell him I said that”. I’m sorry Councilman DeRito, do you have an issue with the First Amendment? Or are you worried you may have said something inappropriate throughout the evening? And why are you calling out a young girl, sitting alone in the front row with a video camera? The press attended the debate, as did a number of constituents, all whom brought cameras and video. Was that REALLY necessary or were you just on a power trip, looking for someone to take your campaign trail frustrations out on?

I also think it’s shameful that Mr. DeRito stated he has abilities that he could “bless the City with” if he is elected, followed by “I’ve done it for 1o years”. Really, sir? You believe you have been BLESSING the City of Alpharetta for the 10 years? Well bless your heart. THANK YOU!

You can also see Doug DeRito flip-flop on the ACVB ticket scandal with these three videos:
Video 1 is the DeRito response, Video 2 is Paine’s response with DeRito interjecting and Video 3 is the moderator questioning DeRito’s lack of consistency. Maybe this is why he called me out during his closing…cause his flip-flop was documented?

1.

2.

3.