Enid's Oberfuhrer is Kaput

 After losing a recall election yesterday in Enid, Oklahoma out going City Commissioner, Judd Blevins issued a statement which in part read, "It took a coalition of leftists and moderates, an all out media blitz from local, state, and national outlets and scare tactics about the future of Vance AFB, unfounded in any truth, or reality, yet shamefully endorsed by the establishment to remove a true conservative from office." 

What Herr Blevins didn't say was yesterday's election would have never been held if it hadn't been for his absolute refusal to apologize for his past connections to a white nationalist group and his participation the 2017 Neo Nazi parade on the University of Virginia campus. In addition, he steadfastly refused to renounce the hateful politics of white nationalism and white supremacy. The people who circulated the recall petition, the Enid Social Justice Committee, had told him that if he did those things they would drop the recall and he could go his merry way as a city commissioner.

Blevins' response had been to go on a local radio show and say, among other things, "I have nothing to apologize for." At a candidate's forum last week when asked about his membership in Identity Evropa--he was the group's Oklahoma state coordinator and recruiter--he said, "Well those organizations no longer exist and I think this election is really about the next three years of this city, not of organizations that disbanded five years ago. Now if speaking out against what is being done to this country, what is continuing to be done to this country is a crime, then I would gladly plead guilty to that." Then he threw in a line about the media's continuing bias against white people.

Brother Blevins also failed to mention the online support his recall campaign received from out of state white nationalist groups. One of them went as far as to publish a photo of the daughter of the social justice committee chair while labeling her a, "terrorist."

It's over and done with now though. When the Enid Ward 1 votes were counted last night--it didn't take long, only 1,390 of the 5,000 registered voters went to the polls--Blevins had lost to republican, Cheryl Patterson, 829 votes to 561. For those into percentages rather than raw numbers that means Ms. Patterson won just under 60% of the ballots cast. And yes, for those pessimists among us it meant a little over four out of every 10 voters in Enid, OK supported a known white supremacist who once marched around at night carrying a torch while chanting, "The Jews will not replace us." 

Not to mention Judd Blevins was right about at least one thing. It did take a coalition of democrats and moderate republicans working in conjunction with Enid business leaders to get rid of his fascist ass.

Indeed, Enid's Oberfuhrer might be kaput, but it took an all hands on deck effort to beat him and that should worry us all. Well, that and the 40% who actually liked the Nazi son of a bitch.   

4-3-24