He is too old to claim the aspiring rapper defense.
CLEARWATER (FOX 13) Everyone in the Pinellas county commission chambers Tuesday afternoon agrees they were shocked when Rondale McDowell singled out the only African American on the board.
“Ken Welch is one of those who we call- excuse me- a house n****,” McDowell said during the open forum portion of the meeting.
Then he did it again.
“There’s no way I’m going to allow this system, these racists…”- he declared with a sweep of arm toward the commissioners -“…and this house n**** …”
As the speaker rambled on, Commission Chairman John Morroni interrupted him.
“Sir…sir…enough”.
The term McDowell invoked at one time referred to slaves who worked inside the homes of their owners.
“His words went over the line of decency in my mind,” Commissioner Janet Long recalled Thursday. Of three commissioners contacted by FOX 13 News, she was the only one who agreed to speak on camera about the incident after learning about McDowell’s recent history. The other two declined, citing concerns for the safety of themselves and their family.