Updated as of 1/5/2023 at 10:30 a.m. ET
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Jody Greene, the former North Carolina county sheriff caught spewing racist insults about his employees, has resigned for the second time, per Axios. He first resigned after his recorded remarks went viral then ran for reelection to get his job back...and won. However, the push to get him out of office continued to loomed over his supposed success.
District Attorney Jon David filed a second petition in Columbus County superior court after Greene’s reelection to have him removed permanently from office. At the beginning of the hearing for that petition, Greene’s attorney announced his client’s resignation from office, per the report. He said the ongoing investigation into the racial discrimination allegations have taken an “emotional and financial toll” on Greene and his family. Cue the sad violin.
Superior Court Judge Douglas Sasser said the announcement put a screeching halt to David’s efforts to get Greene terminated (since Greene basically terminated himself).
“I think at this point it’s resolved, but, living here in Columbus County, I hope from this point forward can go forward and it’s not so much back and forth as to who has said what, but from this point we go forward as to what we can all do to make this a better county,” Sasser said via WECT.
Greene is still in the midst of both state and federal criminal investigations. It’s unclear if he will be able to finesse his way back into office again. Though, he already did it once.
Here’s how it went the first go round:
According to The News & Observer, Jody Greene beat his Democratic challenger and was re-elected as sheriff in November 2022. I thought the previous report of Greene campaigning for the seat was a petty joke to entertain his handful of supporters. It seems that handful got him 54 percent of the vote, per the unofficial results.
The report says Greene celebrated his win on Facebook. “Thank you all!!!!!!” he wrote to people who got him his job back after it looked like his unemployment was a sealed deal.
Greene was recorded spitting racist insults about his Black employees, who he believed conspired against him in the 2018 race for sheriff, reports say. After the recorded tantrum was exposed by his opponent, Jason Soles, District Attorney Jon David petitioned the court to have Greene fired. Superior Court Judge Douglas Sasser decided to suspend him.
Greene gave up, handing in his resignation. However, he ain’t give up his scheme to draw people back to the polls.
Read more about it from The News & Observer:
The race was contentious even by the standards of this stretch of rural southeastern North Carolina known for its bare-knuckled politics.
“A lot of you was harassed, a lot of you was threatened, a lot of you was bullied, and I’m sorry,” Soles told a room of about 50 supporters after the final precinct reported its votes.
“I’m sorry that this journey could not have been more pleasant than it was, but I’m really hoping and praying that this does open the eyes of some people in this county.
The Soles-Greene beef runs deeper than just the phone recording. When Greene took office, his victory was disputed in a lawsuit by his then-opponent, Lewis Hatcher. In the meantime, Soles filled the seat but resigned after Greene’s claim to the throne was solidified. However, Greene ended up arresting Soles’ stepfather in 2020 after he made a snarky comment telling him to “grow up,” per the report.
The next year, Soles was gunning for the sheriff seat.
This midterm election as a whole has only proven that politics often trump (no pun intended) the concerns of the people. The Black employees of Columbus County sheriff’s office would be better off under the leadership of someone who looks like them. Greene said he wanted to fire every one of them anyway.
Straight From 
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