Who Is Jenny Hodges?

When Jenny Hodges left a comment on the article Rep. Bobby Franklin Offends Tornado Victims in Franklin's defense, some Northeast Cobb residents asked, "Who is this person?"

Hodges is Franklin's sister, but the stay-at-home Cobb County mom is much more than that in politics.

According to her Facebook page, Hodges' political views are "John Locke Libertarian."

Although her political debut was only in 2007, she proved to be an articulate proponent on issues during the Nov. 24, 2009, Fayette-Coweta 912 Project event in Peachtree City.

Hodges was the campaign director for 2010 Republican gubernatorial candidate Ray McBerry. When McBerry could not attend the event, Hodges addressed the crowd.  She received a standing ovation after speaking on issues such as states’ rights, abortion, gun control and state sovereignty.

“The Constitution presupposes that our rights are from God. The states came together and made a compact limiting the scope of government,” Hodges was quoted as saying at the Fayette-Coweta 912 Project event. “How dare they enslave us? The solution to the problems with the federal government and federal tyranny is states’ rights and state sovereignty.”

Hodges commented in her brother's defense because their shared belief is that the individual states should determine the significant aspects of their own destiny, such as emergency management of disasters. They question the intervention of the federal government.

Northeast Cobb Patch asked Hodges about interviewing Franklin about his views concerning tornado victims, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and how disasters should be handled.

"Rep. Franklin rarely gives interviews. At this point, I'm not sure what would motivate him to give you one. I'm certainly not motivated to encourage him to do so. But feel free to convince me. I keep an open mind," she said.

Asked where and when Franklin spent three days aiding tornado victims, Hodges wrote in an email: "It is a fact that Bobby was out of town for three days tending to the needs of tornado victims. It is a fact that I did not know of his departure until his return, at which time he responded to some time sensitive email with an apology because he'd been out of town and unable to check email.

"Why would you trust me to give you the exact time, date, location for his trip if you do not trust me that the trip occurred at all?"