Pubdate: Wed, 02 Nov 2005
Source: Green Bay Press-Gazette (WI)
Copyright: 2005 Green Bay Press-Gazette
Contact:  http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/879

REMARKS ON DRUGS, RACE OFFENSIVE FOR BROWN CO.

Voters in Green Bay districts 3 and 9 should do the city and Brown
County a favor by retiring Andy Nicholson and Guy Zima from public
office in spring.

Nicholson's and Zima's comments at a county Public Safety Committee
meeting Tuesday night were outrageous.

Responding to Nicholson's question about what kind of people brought
drugs to the county, Lt. Tom Molitor of the county drug task force set
the stage for what followed. "With any large source of marijuana or
cocaine, it's usually Hispanic or Mexican," Molitor said. "When you're
dealing with crack, generally it's an African American from Chicago or
Milwaukee."

Nicholson and Zima seized on Molitor's observations to share their
narrowminded stereotypes with the committee.

Nicholson blamed drugs in the city on Section 8 housing, a decades-old
program that has helped hundreds of hard working, low-income families
in Brown County afford adequate housing.

Zima chimed in with his suspicions about minorities in general. "What
is that person doing on my street corner, who is not from Green Bay -
obviously a different ethnic background - doing on my street corner,
cell phone held up?" he said.

Brown County residents who care about the community will reject such
narrowmindedness, recognizing that newcomers add a richness and
diversity to life that an insulated society can't offer.

If voters in their districts understand that contribution, Nicholson
and Zima soon will be out of office.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin