POSTED: Tuesday, June 5, 2012 - 6:42pm
UPDATED: Thursday, June 7, 2012 - 10:38am
SMITH COUNTY - Members of Tyler Grassroots America We The People are are not happy about Chris Green calling them a a "fringe political action committee" in a local paper. Now, both sides are upset about the situation.
JoAnn Fleming, with Grassroots America We The People tells KETK, "We have professionals, pastors, we have blue collar people that are in our organization. So Chris Green has decided to call our organization a "fringe group". Now name calling is usually a clear sign that you have lost your focus in a campaign and you've just decided you're going to be a rock thrower."
A spokesman for the Green campaign says "She and her candidate for sheriff continue to send out mailers with these idle accusations against Chris Green. Chris Green is going to run on his record as a business man, as a leader in law enforcement, of someone who knows how to manage and run a 25-million dollar budget of the Smith County Sheriff's office."
The argument doesn't stop there.
Fleming went on to say, "I would suggest that Chris Green owes Grassroots America We the People, an apology."
Grassroots members also claimed that they had received reports that Chris Green was hiring a group to launch a full-scale attack on the organization and it's executive director Joanne Fleming to which the Green campaign replied:
"There is no group, Chris Green has no beef with Grassroots America, there's a lot of great members of it and JoAnn Fleming needs to get her facts straight before she blast her opinion out across Smith County."
KETK asked the Green campaign if they would like to respond to Flemings request for an apology to the organization, here is their response:
"Grassroots is an organization of hard working individuals who are trying to make Texas and Smith County a good place to live and good for them, but it is no secret to anyone in Smith County that JoAnn Fleming is a fringe activist."
"Taxpayers have a clear choice between JoAnn Fleming's fringe agenda and Chris Green who has experience as a small business owner and a respected law enforcefment officer."