Thursday, January 31, 2008
Recall drive gets 4,000 signatures to oust anti-Semitic Selectwoman
Members of a Randolph citizens group trying to oust Selectwoman Maureen Kenney over anti-Semitic remarks she made last fall turned in 4,000 signatures by Monday's 5 p.m. deadline for petitions demanding a recall election.
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They say their drive was successful, regardless of whether Town Clerk Brian Howard determines that the group has the necessary 3,638 signatures - 20 percent of total registered voters - to force the election.
"I think the whole process woke people up," said Jack Smolokoff, a member of the Committee to Recall Maureen Kenney. "It got the attention of a lot of people who were uninvolved before. If nothing else, the lasting effect should be they are now more politically aware."
Under a local bylaw, Howard has 14 days to certify the names.
If the process moves forward, Kenney will be given the opportunity to resign. If she refuses, a recall election will be scheduled for late April or early May. It will be the town's first since the recall bylaw was enacted in 1993.
The remarks that prompted the recall effort were made during contract negotiations with Schools Superintendent Richard Silverman. Kenney, also a School Committee member, objected to Silverman's request for five days' bereavement leave, saying, "Don't you Jews plant them in 24 hours?" She reportedly added, "I don't see any side curls on your head, so what the hell do you need five days of bereavement leave for?" Her reference was to the traditional hairstyle of male Hasidic Jews.
Kenney apologized publicly, but has said the remarks were no more than attempts at humor. She resigned from her seat on the School Committee in November, but has remained on the Board of Selectmen. Her term does not expire until spring of 2010.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/01/31/recall_drive_gets_4000_signatures/
more stories like this
They say their drive was successful, regardless of whether Town Clerk Brian Howard determines that the group has the necessary 3,638 signatures - 20 percent of total registered voters - to force the election.
"I think the whole process woke people up," said Jack Smolokoff, a member of the Committee to Recall Maureen Kenney. "It got the attention of a lot of people who were uninvolved before. If nothing else, the lasting effect should be they are now more politically aware."
Under a local bylaw, Howard has 14 days to certify the names.
If the process moves forward, Kenney will be given the opportunity to resign. If she refuses, a recall election will be scheduled for late April or early May. It will be the town's first since the recall bylaw was enacted in 1993.
The remarks that prompted the recall effort were made during contract negotiations with Schools Superintendent Richard Silverman. Kenney, also a School Committee member, objected to Silverman's request for five days' bereavement leave, saying, "Don't you Jews plant them in 24 hours?" She reportedly added, "I don't see any side curls on your head, so what the hell do you need five days of bereavement leave for?" Her reference was to the traditional hairstyle of male Hasidic Jews.
Kenney apologized publicly, but has said the remarks were no more than attempts at humor. She resigned from her seat on the School Committee in November, but has remained on the Board of Selectmen. Her term does not expire until spring of 2010.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/01/31/recall_drive_gets_4000_signatures/
Comments:
I know you will all want to beat me up for this one, but I am on her side.
First of all, if the is an antisemite, she is following halacha.
Secondly, is she not entitled to a sense of humor? Or is she not entitled to ignorance?
Maybe she did not understand, and she was then educated. She apologized.
Get a life Y"all, and leave her alone. All this over sensitivity is causing more antisemitism.
It looks like a three-year-old running to the teacher, "Rivky called me a name!"
Let's all grow up and stop being so darn sensitive.
I have worked with many people who were strongly antisemitic. Some even made outright mean remarks to me. I never complained. I kept treating them like friends, and "assumed" they were kidding. Eventually, we DID become friends! Eventually they got to know me, and stopped their antisemitism.
To be honest, I get embarrassed by all this childish oversensitivity.
We are in golus folks.
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First of all, if the is an antisemite, she is following halacha.
Secondly, is she not entitled to a sense of humor? Or is she not entitled to ignorance?
Maybe she did not understand, and she was then educated. She apologized.
Get a life Y"all, and leave her alone. All this over sensitivity is causing more antisemitism.
It looks like a three-year-old running to the teacher, "Rivky called me a name!"
Let's all grow up and stop being so darn sensitive.
I have worked with many people who were strongly antisemitic. Some even made outright mean remarks to me. I never complained. I kept treating them like friends, and "assumed" they were kidding. Eventually, we DID become friends! Eventually they got to know me, and stopped their antisemitism.
To be honest, I get embarrassed by all this childish oversensitivity.
We are in golus folks.
Comment Credit ---This article posted by 
: January 31, 2008 8:42 PM
: January 31, 2008 8:42 PM
