Buffalo, New York school board seeks to
oust member for racist jabs at Obama
Send a link to a friend
[December 30, 2016]
By David Ingram
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A western New York
builder and former Republican nominee for governor was censured on
Thursday by fellow members of the Buffalo Board of Education and asked
to resign his seat for making racial slurs about President Barack Obama
and first lady Michelle Obama.
The school board called a special meeting and approved a resolution
demanding the resignation of Carl Paladino, a board member who ran
unsuccessfully for New York governor in 2010. The resolution threatens
proceedings to remove the outspoken conservative if he does not step
down.
Paladino created a firestorm last week when he sent an email to a weekly
newspaper saying he hoped "Obama catches mad cow disease after being
caught having relations with a Her(e)ford."
Regarding Michelle Obama, Paladino said: "I'd like her to return to
being a male and let loose in the outback of Zimbabwe where she lives
comfortably in a cave with Maxie, the gorilla."
His comments were published in the holiday edition of Artvoice, which
had surveyed Buffalo residents about what they would like to happen in
2017 and what they would like to see go away.
Paladino, a wealthy real estate developer and ally of President-elect
Donald Trump, issued a statement on Tuesday apologizing for his
comments. He also took a swipe at critics, calling them "parasites," and
said Barack Obama was "a traitor to American values."
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Dec/30/images/ads/current/graue_sda_2016.png)
Paladino was elected in 2013 to the school board, which oversees a
district with 34,000 students in the second-largest city in New York
state.
During Thursday's meeting, which was broadcast online, some board
members accused Paladino of acting like a bully and making remarks they
would not tolerate from students.
"This level of hatred for African-Americans cannot and should not set
policy for the education of African-American children," board member
Paulette Woods said.
More than 70 percent of the district is non-white, according to the
resolution.
Members of the audience stood up and cheered when the resolution was
approved.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/123016pics/news_c7.jpg)
Republican gubernatorial
candidate Carl Paladino concedes to a crowd in Buffalo November 2,
2010 as he gestures about "raising the bar" in Albany. REUTERS/Gary
Wiepert/File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Dec/30/images/ads/current/castlemanor_lda_051916.png)
Signed by six of the nine board members, the resolution says that if
Paladino does not resign within 24 hours, the board will retain a
lawyer to force his removal by the state's education commissioner.
The commissioner, MaryEllen Elia, is monitoring the situation in
Buffalo and will review any removal request as quickly as possible,
a spokeswoman said.
State education commissioners have removed four board members from
districts in western New York in the past 24 years, the Buffalo News
reported.
Paladino, a co-chairman of Trump's campaign in New York state, told
a radio station on Wednesday that he would not leave the board
voluntarily.
"I'm the agent of change. I'm the guy that exposed the underbelly of
their corrupt and dysfunctional school system, and they want me gone
from the scene," he said in the radio interview.
Paladino could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday.
Trump's transition team has called Paladino's comments "absolutely
reprehensible," USA Today reported.
(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and David Gregorio)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Dec/30/images/ads/current/napa_bch1-3108.png) |