Posted on 09/06/2007 10:34:53 PM PDT by peggybac
The woman in the middle of a Kansas City political storm isn’t quitting.
Frances Semler said Thursday she was feeling pressured because the city could lose two national conventions unless she resigned from the park board. And she was shaken by a local group that showed up at her doorstep Wednesday.
But, she said, “I don’t intend to resign.”
Mayor Mark Funkhouser said Thursday that he understood if Semler wanted to resign after the National Council of La Raza and the NAACP said they were reconsidering holding their conventions in Kansas City because of her membership in the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps.
That group has taken a strong stance on immigration issues and has conducted patrols of U.S. borders.
In June, Funkhouser turned down Semler’s offer to resign after the initial controversy over her appointment. But Thursday, he said he would not require her to stay on the park board, because of recent events.
“If she feels like it’s more than she wants to deal with, I’m not going to force her to do it,” Funkhouser said.
Semler said the mayor need not worry.
“I appreciate his support,” she said. “We have a good group (on the park board) and I enjoy being part of the group. And I feel we can accomplish a lot.”
As far as her appointment drawing attention from national civil rights groups, Semler said, “It is absolutely the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.” She said her views on immigration should not affect her service on the board.
Semler said she had not spoken to Funkhouser this week but did talk Wednesday with his wife, Gloria Squitiro, who was supportive.
Funkhouser reiterated that he continued to support Semler, even if it meant losing the two conventions and any other events.
Also Thursday, members of a group apologized for upsetting Semler by going to her door Wednesday and leaving a letter calling for her to resign.
Semler said the incident left her shaken and prompted her to call police, who have stepped up patrols of the neighborhood.
In a news conference, members of the Interfaith Worker Justice of Greater Kansas City offered their explanation.
“We don’t regret delivering her the letter,” said the Rev. Spencer Barrett of the Bethel AME Church. “We do apologize to her. Our only regret would be that she was frightened in any way, shape or form.”
Longtime labor organizer Chere Chaney said she was one of six people who visited Semler’s home. She said there was no intent to intimidate Semler.
“We went to the door. … rang the doorbell; she didn’t answer,” Chaney said. “Knocked on the door; she didn’t answer. … we were at the door less than a minute, and we left.”
Several of those at the West Side news conference repeated their criticism of the Semler appointment.
“The country is looking at our city and seeing what we stand for,” said Rita Valenciano of the Coalition of Hispanic Organizations. “Do we stand for a community that’s diverse, inclusive and welcoming? Or do we stand for bigotry and hatred against a targeted group because of their looks and appearance and language?”
Semler questioned whether the group truly regretted its action because members said they would do nothing differently.
“That’s not an apology really,” she said.
Semler said she questioned the group’s explanation because she believed they called ahead to find out whether she was at home and hung up when she identified herself.
Two of Semler’s neighbors told police they saw eight or nine individuals at the door and the group parked two cars away from Semler’s home and then walked to the door.
She said the group pounded on her door multiple times before leaving.
“I think they wanted a confrontation because they made sure I was at home,” she said.
Semler said that she remained mystified over how the controversy surrounding her has mushroomed, but that the threat of Kansas City losing conventions would not cause her to step aside.
“It doesn’t seem like this is going away,” she said. “We are at a standoff.”
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Inside Mike Hendricks applauds the mayor’s stance. | B1
Tourism officials worry about the effects of a boycott. | C1
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@ Go to KansasCity. com for video from a news conference by opponents of Frances Semler.
To reach DeAnn Smith, call 816-234-4412 or send e-mail to dsmith@kcstar.com.
La Raza are just the Hispanic version of the KKK. They should be relieved that La Raza doesn’t want to host their event in KC anymore!
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
ping
Now that the ACLU has become the MCLU, they're losing support too. They're supposed to represent AMERICAN rights. Follow the money.
““The country is looking at our city and seeing what we stand for,” said Rita Valenciano of the Coalition of Hispanic Organizations. “Do we stand for a community that’s diverse, inclusive and welcoming? Or do we stand for bigotry and hatred against a targeted group because of their looks and appearance and language?””
They are framing the debate and the media is their willing accomplice. I don’t give a flying fornication what someone looks like or what language they speak, but I do care greatly if they are here ILLEGALLY. If they are, they can damn well be shown the door, I don’t care if they swam over from Mexico or Canada, just get your illegal rats rump out of MY country. I wonder how embarrassed LEGAL immigrants are about this concerning ILLEGAL aliens?
This woman makes me proud to be a Kansas Citian again.
If I were Semler and the city of Kansas City; I would feel honored that groups that are so shamelessly racist would rather go somewhere else. They don’t need that kind of trash in their city which would probably cause more trouble than they are worth.
Plain TERRORISM
There was a video posted with the group stating they didn’t mean to scare her. I went back to watch it and it has been pulled.
Yea right...that's what they said when they got caught
We are living in, and have lived through, an age of terrorism against Americans.
When a tidal wave of hostile foreigners comes into our country, uses mass violence, or even individualized violence, to try to intimidate us into accepting their presence and even their rule, that's terrorism.
Plain and simple: it's war by other means, conducted by guerillas who don't wear uniforms, but fight nonetheless to destroy our nation.
"Enemy Combatants" is the term Bush uses for soldiers who don't wear uniforms ("war criminals" is what they were called after WWII).
Fine. Just call the La Raza terrorists that, because that's what they are.
When will we see that happen?
Does anyone still doubt the inevitability of another shooting civil war in the U.S.?
There are too damned many idiots and haters to avoid a showdown one day soon.......a very violent showdown.
Arm thy self neighbor -— one day you’ll need the hardware.
If anyone wants to do a good turn they could compile a list of the organizations that the visitors are members of, and their titles in those organizations.
There are some listed here:
http://undocumentedblogger.blogspot.com/2007/09/la-raza-harasses-and-intimidates-73.html
Please bear in mind that not all groups with “La Raza” in their name are the main group that uses that: NCLR. If anyone can verify that Garza is an official of some kind with NCLR or the AILA that would be just great.
Yup, The Clan with a tan.
Regards
Yeah that's the reason the majority is against illegal immigration...(/S) ...geez get a clue....
You can give them a thousand reasons for anger towards this
“group”....none of which has anything to do with race...and they will ignore it all and respond: “you just don’t like brown skin”....
so full of sh** it’s unbelievable.....
Contact info if you are so inclined. Couldn’t find a direct email for Frances Semler.
Mayor Funkhouser
City Hall, 29th floor
414 E. 12th St.
Kansas City, MO 64106
Phone: (816) 513-3500
Fax: (816) 513-3518
mayor@kcmo.org
Director of Parks & Recreation
Mark L. McHenry
4600 E. 63rd St.
Kansas City, MO 64130
(816) 513-7500
Parks@kcmo.org
I totally agree with you. People can only be pushed so far. I cannot believe what has happened to this country in such a short time!
Au contraire. La raza is infinitely worse than the KKK. The Kluxers were a fringe group of nut-balls. La raza is a huge racist movement that has been accepted and endorsed by the MSM and a majority of our politicians. The irony is, if la raza were a white group instead of an hispanic group, and if the only change was to swap “white” for “hispanic” or “latino” or “brown” in La raza’s platform, those same politicians and MSM would be tripping all over themselves condemning it. Our nation is being sold down the river by our leaders. Their suicidal embrace of “diversity” will be fatal to us. Multiculturalism is national suicide, and political correctness is the cyanide capsule.
“Does anyone still doubt the inevitability of another shooting civil war in the U.S.?”
Unfortunately, you are right.
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