Less than 24 hours after Damion Poe was knocked from contention in the Democratic mayoral primary with only 7 percent of the vote, he threw the first public shots at fellow Democrat Johnny Moore.
Poe, 26, took to Facebook Wednesday, saying Moore “treated me like a peasant at white events and then went and threw a BBQ in the hood to get votes.”
Poe was referring to a campaign event held by Moore at J.L. King Park on Saturday ahead of the Democratic Primary.
The sharp words came just hours after Poe threw his support behind Democratic candidate Lynn Spruill heading into the May 16 runoff. Spruill and Moore's finish was a tight one in the primary on Tuesday, with Spruill netting 1,697 votes compared to Moore's 1,611. Apart from the win at the polls, it was viewed as a political victory for Spruill on Tuesday night when Poe officially endorsed her campaign. The move could make the difference in a runoff with low voter turnout expected.
Spruill told the SDN on Thursday that Poe is still a part of her bid for City Hall and she felt sorry that he did not feel like a welcome candidate on the campaign trail.
“I enjoy learning from (Poe) about his ideas,” Spruill said. “He deserves to be taken seriously and that is why I welcomed him into our campaign. I am still spending my time talking about the issues with people who care about our community.”
When asked why the original Facebook post was hidden from view Thursday, Poe said it was taken down because those commenting were “becoming aggressive with each other.”
“Starting fights amongst people was not my intent,” Poe told the SDN.
Moore responded to Poe’s accusations with a lengthy Facebook post, lambasting everything from Poe’s age to his freshly woven ties to Spruill.
“I am sure that this is nothing less than a way to manufacture issues to help Lynn Spruill,” Moore said from his campaign Facebook page. “Despite what Damion stated, I currently have multiple friends living on Carver Drive that I have had prior to Damion Poe even being born.”
Poe told the SDN he simply wanted to express how he perceived his experiences with Moore.
“(Moore) states that I misunderstood his actions and I hope that he’s being truthful,” Poe said.
Moore said in a media statement that he did not and has never “snubbed” anyone involved with outside campaigns, including Poe. He then readdressed the accusations of pandering to African-American voters with his campaign event at J.L. King Park.
“Despite what Damion stated, I currently have multiple friends living on Carver Drive that I have had prior to Damion Poe even being born,” he said. “In addition, I have spent numerous nights and weekends playing softball at J.L. King Park when I was in high school and college 40 years ago."
Moore will square off against Spruill in the May 16 runoff to decide Starkville’s next mayor. No Republicans qualified to run in the General Election in June.