By JOSH RESNEK
In a recent Boston Globe Op-Ed and during a radio appearance on the Jim Braude and Margery Egan news show on National Public Radio, Adrien addressed how she is being treated by her colleagues and the mayor since she was elected.
She was invited to appear on the radio show based on the revelations she made in the Globe Op-Ed.
Her appearance last week on NPR caused the mayor to demand equal time on the Braude and Egan Show, a request they granted to him late last week.
During his radio appearance, the mayor said Adrien was “rude and ignorant.”
Adrien had detailed her poor treatment by her council colleagues and the mayor since her election during her earlier appearance on the Braude, Egan Show.
She described being taunted, being threatened, and being asked to resign by several of her colleagues.
She also gave substance and detail to her belief that the mayor is out to get her and isn’t exactly trying to hide the animus he holds for her.
Adrien told the Leader Herald she thought his behavior and demeanor on the Braude, Egan show was deplorable.
Braude and Egan questioned the mayor about diversity.
The mayor said he took pride in forming a diversity committee.
Did you appoint Adrien to the diversity committee,” Braude asked him.
“Yes,” the mayor replied.
“Is she on the committee now?” Braude asked the mayor.
“No. She got thrown off,” the mayor answered.
In the background, Egan’s voice could be heard.
“You’re the mayor and you don’t know why she’s been thrown off the diversity committee,” Egan asked in disbelief.
And so the discussion went for about 25 minutes.
“I thought the mayor acted very disrespectful. He still does not understand how his reactions to me can be perceived as racist. The mayor took time to make a false accusation about me,” Adrien added.
“He called my behavior ignorant. Calling a Black person ignorant is very disrespectful,” she said.
She described how several of her colleagues on the council wanted nothing to do with her.
“He said I had a constant behavior problem. He claimed I pointed my finger at him. He claimed I was yelling. Those are all lies,” she said.
Boston Public Radio viewed footage of the show.
“Footage of the virtual meeting contradicts the mayor’s claims that Adrien ever screamed or pointed her finger. At one point, she can be seen visibly dismissing a comment he made about not reading social media, rolling her eyes with a look of bemusement, the station reported.
What does she make of this?
“It is his personal agenda to take me down from day one. In reality, I have tried to sit down with him and to work with him on Everett issues. The fear of a Black woman coming in and having more of a say and respect in the community terrifies him,” she told the Leader Herald.
On the Braude, Egan Show the mayor tried to have his say about how he is devoted to diversity.
He attempted to deflect claims by Adrien that she has been treated with disrespect and singled out because she is Black by her colleagues on the council and by the mayor.
Two weeks ago, the mayor said during a council meeting that Adrien was showing disrespect to him when he answered a question during a ZOOM city council meeting.
He claimed she was laughing at him.
“I wish I could have her block covered,” he said that night.
Adrien is the first Black woman to be elected to the city council.
The mayor’s office does not respond to requests for comments from the Leader Herald.
“I’m not afraid of his administration,” Adrien told Boston Public Radio . “I’m not afraid of the council president or my colleagues. I wanted to come into this [job to] change people’s perspective, to get involved, and to not be afraid.”