If you live in Franklin, Tennessee, please vote for Ken Moore for Mayor.

Mayor Ken Moore
Antifa member?

Gabrielle Hanson

by Rod Williams, Oct. 13, 2023-With all else that is going on locally and in the world, you may have not paid much attention to the drama surrounding Gabrielle Hanson, the MAGA Republican Franklin Alterman who is running for mayor of Franklin. 

There are a lot of Republicans who support Donald Trump and while I think they are misguided and wrong, they are decent people and pretty much mainstream in their political views.  They like Trump policies and think he was a good president. They don't acknowledge or don't care that he tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power and illegally hold on to power. 

There are those MAGA Republicans, and then, there are the weird Trumpinistas: charlatans, conspiracy theorist, white supremist, hypocrites, and con artist.  Trump has attracted a lot of weird people to the party and resulted in some misfit candidates running for office. Gabrielle Hanson is in this category. 

One thing that makes the Gabrielle Hanson race interesting is that thirty years ago she was charged with promoting prostitution, a charge to which she plead no contest. She explained this away and said she was just answering the phone and scheduling appointments and had no idea she was working for an escort service. If that were all, I could overlook a mistake made by a college student needing a job thirty years ago. That is not all. 

Hanson led an unsuccessful battle to block a Pride festival from being held at a city park in Franklen and then an image surfaced of her own husband wearing nothing but an American flag Speedo at a Pride event in Chicago. That is not a pretty picture. She justified the contradiction. 

Other issues that have drawn attention is that she alleged that the Covenant School shooter was involved in a love triangle with school staff.  

A Franklin ethics board found Hanson violated the city’s ethics code by using her position as an alderman to get gifts and privileges. And there has been more.

The worst, in my view, and the most recent issue regarding Gabrille Hanson is that she has failed to condemn a hate group called Tennessee Active Club.  I am normally quite reticent to call a group a "hate group," because the term is often used to smear people who are culturally conservative.  In the case of the Tennessee Active Club, the term "hate group" is justified. You can read about the Active Club network here. The group is openly white supremacist. Channel 4 News says the group is "a group of self-proclaimed neo-Nazis."

Earlier this week at a forum hosted for candidates for mayor and alderman in Franklin, members of Tennessee Active Club showed up and escorted Hanson and her husband into the event. They said they were there to protect Gabrielle.  It gets weirder. 

The group claims Mayor Ken Moore, who has served as mayor since 2011 is a member of Antifa. Yep, Dr. Ken Moore, Mayor of Franklin, is said to be a member of Antifa. Dr. Moor has served as president of the Tennessee Orthopedic Society, is a member of the Franklin Rotary Club, Building Lives Foundation Board, TMA Group Board, Williamson County and Franklin Chamber of Commerce Board, and chairman of the Columbia State Foundation Board and in 2018 the Tennessee Municiple League mayor of the year. The Sunday school teacher at the Franklin First United Methodist Church is said to me a member of Antifa. I know he doesn't look the part, but you never can tell. 

After the appearance of Tennessee Active Club at that event, a call went out from other members of the Board of Alderman to condemn the group.  Gabrielle Hanson refused. She said, “I’m literally not going to denounce whatever it is that they want to be, whether I agree with what they do in their personal life or not,” “If they want to support you and your re-election, and they want to support me, that is their right. We don’t discriminate in this community against anyone. Never did they lay a hand on anyone, and they were very respectful while they were here.”

The city of Franklin is recognized and honored as one of America's best small towns and wins accolades in all kinds of categories. It would be a shame, if the city of Franklin were to elect Gabrielle Hanson as mayor. The world is paying attention to the mayoral race in Franklin. This race has been covered in The New Republic, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, The Daily Beast, Esquire, Vanity Fair, U K's The Daily Mail and many other publications.

Early voting begins Wednesday and runs through Oct. 19. Election day is Oct. 24. If you live in Franklin, please vote for Ken Moore. 

 

Top Stories