Councilman upset over alleged remarks about Romney sticker - Atlanta News, Weather, Traffic, and Sports | FOX 5

A veteran Atlanta council member calls the alleged actions of an Atlanta parking officer "ridiculous."

The man told FOX 5 on Thursday that he is upset over what a ParkAtlanta employee said as she wrote him a parking ticket.
 
"I overheard her say that, when she saw the sticker on the back of my car, the Mitt Romney sticker, ‘Oh, I'm definitely going to give you a ticket now,'" he said.

The man admitted that he was parked illegally and says he'll pay the ticket, but he said he would like an apology.

Howard Shook, an Atlanta City Councilmember from Buckhead, said he is outraged over the incident.

"This is just ridiculous that something like this would happen," said Shook.

Shook notes that there are plenty of signs and stickers supporting Romney across the city.

"If you're one of the thousands of Atlantans who live here, work here, play here and who might have a Romney bumper sticker on your car – or a bumper sticker that some other ParkAtlanta person might take exception to – you know, maybe it's not so funny. It sends a terrible message to people thinking about moving a business here or having a convention here," said Shook.

Sue Everhart, the chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, said the ParkAtlanta employee should be fired.

Eric Gray, a spokesperson for the Georgia Democratic Party, acknowledged that the man shouldn't have been targeted because of the sticker, but cautioned against terminating the worker.

"We shouldn't be casting stones and trying to throw people under the bus. This guy shouldn't be targeted because of his bumper sticker. But we also shouldn't target people's jobs based upon conjecture or what we're not certain about. Someone should investigate it. Let's see what happens, Let's let it play out," said Gray.

ParkAtlanta issued a statement saying that the parking officer and the man ticketed have differing stories.