They talk badly about me. At least part of the things they say get back to me. It used to bother me somewhat, because it's always disturbing to think someone might believe a lie about you.
Since then, I have been lucky to meet other candidates and elected officials, some of whom dealt with pretty bad lies from opponents. I asked one lady how she dealt with it. She told me that in her family, they always say, "Do your best, and let God do the rest." That stuck with me. Now I just consider the source and move on.
I have received a few threatening comments. The first one was the one in a private message on social media that initially made me start looking at the government of Sugar Hill.
Another was after a Town Hall regarding annexation in November 2019. I was speaking with Brandon Hembree, who told me something like, "Let's not have an adversarial relationship, Amber." Considering that he has raised his voice and been confrontational, even somewhat aggressive with me on several occasions with no apology or obvious intent to change his approach, I took that as a threat to me to stand down.
These things don't sound like much, but politicians know what the laws are and how to act just inside the laws. They have made that abundantly clear in their approach to the Georgia Sunshine Laws.
They've also made it pretty clear they see my constant presence at City Hall, my vocal nature, my refusal to back down, and my runs for office as a problem. If you've ever heard them talk about me, you can see that for yourself, too. That's really strange given that mostly what I do is ask questions and share information they should be sharing. Nothing I do is that controversial. My platform year after year - transparency, accountability, common-sense growth, and financial responsibility - is not revolutionary. It's just the way any responsible, ethical government ought to work.
Overall, though, I think they're smart enough to know big threats would further prove my case against them and invite more attention from more people. So, for me personally, nothing has been a major problem so far. They're just more red flags that prove I'm right to stick around and follow things as closely as I do.
What DOES bother me is the number of people in town who fear that someone will do something to them. I have people who put out signs for me, but express concern that City officials will try to do something to them. I've had people express that they were scared to support me because it might cause them to be excluded from organizations and activities tied to the City government or a City official. I even had someone tell me he would like to support me publicly but was afraid he might not be allowed to participate in a church activity if he did.
If I'm aware that these concerns are floating around, I am pretty sure that the local government officials - elected, employed, and appointed - know this idea is out there as well. They do nothing to dispel it. Responsible and ethical officials would WANT to correct this idea if it were not true.