While a former commissioner threatened to initiate proceedings to recall Fayette County Commissioner Robert Horgan, for the first time last week a resident took Horgan’s side during the public comment portion of the commission meeting.

Ben Morrell, who lives on Belaire Loop south of Fayetteville, said Horgan’s arrest May 23 for possession of marijuana and driving with an expired tag aren’t serious enough to warrant removing him from office. He pointed out both offenses are misdemeanors.

“In the eyes of the law this is by no means an egregious or heinous crime,” Morrell said.

Morrell said he thought Horgan deserved to be treated just like a county employee would, which he said amounts to 10 days suspension for a first drug offense and termination upon a second drug offense.

“All I ask is that we hold Mr. Horgan to the same standards as all county employees,” Morrell said.

Horgan, according to a police report admitted to smoking while he was driving his pickup truck immediately before a Fayette County sheriff’s deputy pulled him over for the tag violation.

Horgan was absent from Thursday’s commission meeting and it was not publicly explained why he did not appear.

In the eyes of former county Commissioner Harold Bost, Horgan’s arrest should be significant enough for him to resign. Bost, a member of Fayette Citizens for Open Government, said the group knows the commission can’t remove Horgan, but the group wants it known that if he does not resign by July 15 its members “will initiate a recall petition on Robert Horgan.”

The group has already enlisted citizens to help with the recall effort, Bost said.

Bost turned up the political rhetoric and accused Horgan of not contributing much to the commission except his votes.

“In my opinion he has been the most useless county commissioner I have ever known in Fayette County or any other county for that matter,” Bost said.

Bost also said he has spoken with several of Horgan’s classmates from his school days, who told him that Horgan was “heavy into smoking” pot when he was in school, a practice that Bost assumed has taken place since then.

“That’s close to 30 years, according to my calculations,” Bost said.

“I think either his brain is fried after approximately 30 years of smoking pot or he has been under the influence ... of pot when he comes to these chambers,” Bost said. “I wonder if he has not resigned because he sees nothing wrong with what he is doing or if he needs his commissioner’s salary to go buy more pot. Mr. Horgan should save what little face he has left and do the right thing and that is resign and resign now.”

Fayette resident Pat Hinchey, who filed an ethics complaint against Horgan, said he had thought about waiting until Horgan’s criminal case had concluded to do so, but he thought that Horgan admitted to the crimes during his statement to the public at the first commission meeting following his arrest.

“He broke the law and that is what this is all about,” Hinchey said. “We’re tired of people who are elected breaking the law and feeling like they’re above it.”