A pair of blatantly racist text messages sent from the then-chairman of the Walton County Commission to a fellow commissioner and two other county employees have captured the attention of prominent Black leaders and could impact the outcome of two local political races.
The offensive text messages were sent by Trey Nick to fellow County Commissioner Tony Anderson in July of 2021 while the two were attending a conference in Washington D.C. Laura Eckstrom, Anderson's administrative assistant, and Heather Maxwell, an assistant county attorney, also received them.
The first text message, which read "Plenty of (N-word) out this evening" was accompanied by a photo of two Black men seated in a vehicle. It received a response just a minute later from someone that typed "Violation!!!" About 20 minutes later, Nick again sent the photo of the two men in the car with a message that read "Just the monkeys at the circus across the street."
Though Nick wrote and sent the texts, Anderson has come under nearly as much fire for failing to take any action upon receiving them. Both men, who are seeking election this year, are named in complaints filed with the Florida Commission on Ethics.
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Nick, who served as the District 4 county commissioner from 2018 until 2022, is running this year for the county's District 1 seat. His Republican opponents for the job include incumbent Commissioner William "Boots" McCormick and Dan Curry.
Anderson, representing the county's District 5, is seeking re-election to his third term in office and has picked up GOP opposition from Barbara Morano and Edmond Zlotea, with Democrat Michael Miller waiting to meet the primary winner in November's general election.
The public became aware of the text messages as the campaigns for the county commission seats were heating up. The messages, one accompanied by a photograph of two Black men, had first entered the public domain through a lawsuit Maxwell filed in Federal Court in October of 2022. In it she alleged gender discrimination against Walton County and specific members of its Board of County Commissioners.
The lawsuit states McCormick, the commissioner Nick seeks to unseat, had "very likely" worked with two other county commissioners, Danny Glidewell and (since resigned) Mike Barker, to terminate Maxwell after Maxwell rebuffed McCormick's "inappropriate romantic overtures."
McCormick, Barker and Glidewell had all worked together at the Walton County Sheriff's Office, according to the lawsuit. As noted in the Maxwell complaint, the men had been accused more than once in the past of teaming up to remove employees they didn't like.
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The racist comments were cited in Maxwell's lawsuit as examples of instances prior to McCormick's advances in which she'd been an unwitting victim of disgusting behavior on the part of members of the Walton County Board of Commissioners.
"Prior to being subjected to and rebuffing McCormick's inappropriate romantic overtures, Maxwell was subjected to numerous other uncomfortable actions by BCC commissioners indicative of the arrogant, above the law 'good ole boy' environment fostered by certain BCC commissioners that Maxwell and others have endured," it said.
The lawsuit, which the county settled out of court, highlights the July 8, 2021, trip that Maxwell, Nick, Anderson and Eckstrom took to Washington D.C. "on county business." While not naming Nick personally, it mentions a (then) county commissioner "the same county commissioner that had dropped (an) intoxicated naked female Walton County employee off at Maxwell's residence" as being behind the racist texts.
That commissioner "engaged in further inappropriate conduct toward Maxwell by sending racially derogatory text messages to Maxwell and others while the two were in Washington D.C. on county business," the lawsuit said.
After recounting the specific comments made, the lawsuit goes on to state that Maxwell "upon returning home ... was informed she may be terminated."
By July of this year, the existence of the texts, their content and who had sent and received them had become widely known and at a meeting held July 9, one that Anderson did not attend, several members of the public, including Frank Guillory, head of the NAACP for Walton, Washington and Holmes counties, addressed the Board of County Commissioners.
"This is not 1860 or 1850, this is 2024, and it's about time we grow up as individuals and human beings and start showing some respect for each other," Guillory said. "This coming from elected public officials, people we put our trust in, can't be tolerated. You are entitled to your opinion under the First Amendment, but do you have to put it out to the public? That's your option, but there are consequences to your actions."
Guillory, who did not respond to a request for comment, said at the meeting he intended to consult with NAACP officials at the state level "to see if and how we can rectify this situation."
Walton County has endured past criticism for refusing to remove a Confederate monument and the flag that flies over it , from in front of its County Courthouse. The most recent calls came in 2017, following a violent clash in Charlottesville, Virginia, in which white nationalists and neo-Nazis marched and clashed with counter-protesters. The event left one dead and dozens injured.
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In a letter to the editor of a DeFuniak Springs weekly newspaper that was published after the revelation of the racist text messages, VC Crystal, a member of the Walton County Democratic Black Caucus, decried a pervasive animosity.
"There is racially so much wrong in this town. When the Nicks and Andersons are elected it speaks volumes about the dark and ungodly hearts of many," the letter said. "The fact Trey Nick is even allowed to run (for office) is incredible. These men are chock full of irrational hatred."
The lengthy letter goes on to state "when you go into any reputable institution in Walton County you see where African Americans stand" by their absence from the workplace "or a token Black person working there."
"The fact that the Confederate monument is housed on land Black people also must use is abhorrent," the letter states, referencing the Courthouse memorial. "Black residents, descendants of slaves, who must use the Courthouse for business and trials are forced to relive the historical trauma of slavery and Jim Crow."
Anderson, who along with Nick was accused at the July 9 meeting of denying the text conversation ever took place, would eventually release a statement seeking to absolve himself of any wrongdoing.
"I did not write or reply to any of the text messages that have been referenced and neither did my aide. My friends and neighbors, and the residents of Walton County, know that I treat everyone with dignity and respect. The racist language in those messages is offensive and hurtful and should never be used," it said.
Nick did not reply to a phone call or text message seeking comment for this article.
A complaint filed with the Florida Commission on Ethics on July 16 by Walton County citizen activist Alan Osborne states Nick "abused his public position when he made repeated statements" of a racist nature.
"He was conducting county business and saying it directly in correspondence to Commissioner Tony Anderson, his aide and a county attorney," the complaint said.
A separate complaint, filed against Anderson, accuses him of not reporting the text messages sent by Nick, which he again alleged to be sent in the course of Nick "conducting county business.
"Tony Anderson never reported the violations," the complaint states. "Only employee Maxwell saved it, until she was terminated, then she filed it as evidence in her civil suit to affect a quick and quiet insurance settlement."
Osborne's complaint notes that, as commissioners, both Nick and Anderson have heard and approved projects and programs for minorities.
"This is a possible serious misuse of position and trust that appears, on the surface, to give special benefits to non-minorities like Commissioners Nick and Anderson and punish those of color," the complaint states.
The complaint calls for an audit or review of Walton County minority project approvals and minority hiring and firings.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Walton County commissioners under fire for racist text messages as local elections loom
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