Bettye Jones, Her Own Worst Enemy

With all due respect to Bettye Jones, who recently retired from her position as Executive Director of Cenla Pride in order to move closer to her family in suburban Atlanta: What the hell are you talking about?

From David Dinsmore’s comically ignorant and completely misleading article, which was, evidently, paid for by Gannett (bold mine):

This respect comes despite a very public and somewhat ugly battle with Alexandria Mayor Jacques Roy’s administration over funding for Cenla Pride.

Things became so heated and controversial, Jones said, that she caught blame from some people after they perceived Roy’s decision to shut down the Bolton Avenue Community Center for two years as a personal shot against her. Those who worked with her in the neighborhoods, the city and even within the organization began keeping a distance.

“It’s obvious that I can’t make a positive impact in the city of Alexandria now or in the foreseeable future,” said Jones, adding that she had begun planning for her resignation prior to the funding battle.

Dinsmore: FAIL.

The Bolton Avenue Community Center was not “shut down… for two years.” That is an egregious, ridiculous lie. The Bolton Avenue Community Center has never been “shut down.” Portions of the center were temporarily closed FOR RENOVATIONS; that is, the City spent precious money improving the facility. Despite Ms. Jones’s solipsistic revisionism and Mr. Dinsmore’s inexcusably sloppy journalism, Mayor Jacques Roy never “shut down” the facility; instead, he dramatically improved it, and if Mr. Dinsmore had done even a tiny bit of homework, he would have learned of other, more ambitious plans.

I don’t know Bettye Jones personally, but I know, personally, that what she told David Dinsmore of The Town Talk was a complete and total lie. And Mr. Dinsmore should have checked her obfuscating and self-promotional lies before he reported them as fact in the newspaper.

Bettye Jones also told radio talk show host Tony Brown that she was providing $200,000+ worth of services to the City of Alexandria for only $40,000. Prove it, Bettye. Prove it. You can’t.

Tony Brown, a man who is (hilariously) alleged to have 2 MILLION listeners every day, may believe you, but I don’t. Also, to Tony Brown: I doubt I am the only one who thought it was ridiculous that you introduced Ms. Jones as a white woman, like a novelty; it’s as if you were tacitly acknowledging your own racial biases. Some of us prefer to live in the present, and others, like you, prefer to continue fighting the battles of the past.

Regardless, Bettye Jones is and will always be her own worst enemy. The simple and plain truth is: The City decided to defund her salary, because it wasn’t receiving an adequate return on its investment. And this decision wasn’t made by a white man; it was made by an African-American woman.

I wish Bettye Jones the best of luck, but I think David Dinsmore owes the readers of The Town Talk a full-throated retraction. Nothing less. He blatantly misrepresented and misreported the truth.

He can begin with answering this question: Have you, David Dinsmore, ever been inside of the Bolton Avenue Community Center?