Gwinnett County Chairwoman Charlotte Nash said all residents of Gwinnett County should be respected during her State of the County Address on Thursday, directly referring to the ongoing controversy surrounding Commissioner Tommy Hunter even if she didnt mention him by name.

The commission has been bombarded with calls for Hunters resignation, or for his colleagues to remove him from office, since he called U.S. Rep. John Lewis a racist pig and referred to Democrats as Demonrats and Libtards on Facebook a month ago.

Nash previously sent a letter of apology to Lewis, but she took a firmer stance with Gwinnettians on the issue in her address during a luncheon at the Infinite Energy Center in Duluth.

Inclusion does not just happen, she said. It takes intentional effort. Let me be perfectly clear failure to respect all Gwinnettians and welcome their participation in our community is neither acceptable nor smart. Gwinnetts future success depends on all of us, working together to build the community.

We must engage and empower leaders from our diverse population who love Gwinnett to champion this important work.

Hunter has been under fire since his remarks surfaced in the media, and it has since grown to engulf his colleagues on the commission and others. On Tuesday night, a Gwinnett NAACP meeting where Hunter was the guest speaker erupted into turmoil as members expressed displeasure at his being invited to the meeting and called for the chapters president to resign.

County leaders have made efforts to learn more about minority issues recently, including visiting the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta on Tuesday.

During Nashs speech, which highlighted Gwinnett as a remarkable place, Nash addressed the countys efforts on community outreach and bringing leaders from diverse population groups together to address community issues.

Her remarks on the need to show respect toward all people in Gwinnett drew applause from the hundreds of people who attended the luncheon.

Efforts outlined by Nash to increase that include improving outreach efforts related to small business and minority applicants, making sure the history of Gwinnetts African-American community is featured in next years bicentennial celebrations, establishing a TV Gwinnett program aimed at highlighting diverse cultural communities in the county, getting more young people into the Gwinnett 101 government education program, getting county leaders to make site visits to cultural groups around the county, raising the among diverse community interaction taking place by opening up county facilities more.

Theres more to do, as recent events have shown, Nash said. I have made a personal commitment to seek ways to increase my own understanding of varied racial and cultural backgrounds. I hope that my fellow commissioners will do the same.

To symbolize our deepened commitment to engage with our diverse community, we are adopting the tagline Many Voice, One Gwinnett.

She even took a page from the younger social media savvy generation and encouraged Gwinnettians to use #ManyVoicesOneGwinnett on places such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to promote unity among the countys diverse populations.

Forthcoming projects also teased

While Nashs comments on diversity and inclusion was the most timely part of her speech, she also gave attendees a hint at what can be expected.

She said work is progressing on the countys partnerships with Norcross and Duluth leaders to build new downtown libraries in both cities for example. More than that, however, she said there have been talks between the county and officials in Lawrenceville and Snellville to build new library branches in those cities as well.

Work to develop an extensive trail system around the county was also highlighted.

The county, cities, and CIDs are developing a countywide plan to guide the creation of a remarkable trail network, Nash said. Not only will a robust network of pathways give folks another choice for travel, the connections and activity add to the feeling of community that so many are seeking and thats good for development, too.

She also said demolition work is expected to begin in the near future on the former Olympic tennis center near Stone Mountain and Snellville.

Well be seeking a private sector partner through a competitive process, so start thinking about what makes sense for the site, Nash said. The Evermore CID is anxiously awaiting the venues transformation.

Also on the topic of CIDs, Nash said the county will be working with two of its districts, the Gwinnett Place CID and the Gwinnett Village CID, on projects this year.

Gwinnett Place is looking to improve connectivity around its namesake mall, Pleasant Hill Road and McDaniel Farm Park as part of its ACTivate Gwinnett Place master plan. Meanwhile, Gwinnett Village is working on an update to its Livable Centers Initiative plan and will work with the county on traffic flow and pedestrian access improvements.

All in all, there is a lot to celebrate when we look at our remarkable community and its prospects for the future, Nash said.

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Nash says 'there's more to do' on diversity at State of the County address - Gwinnettdailypost.com