by Luis Carlos López
In his latest visit to Washington D.C., Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon appeared in a panel with New Haven, Conn. Mayor John DeStefano and Arlington County board member Walter Tejada at the Centerfor American Progress to discuss the effects of implementing Arizona’s immigration law.
Gordon’s visit to the country’s capital marks his latest round of appearances in his effort to overturn SB1070 and change the perception of some who regard Arizona as a “racist state.”
“My goal is to get this law revoked as soon as possible,” Gordon said. “Not everyone is like those you hear and read about…
”Last month during Phoenix’s continuing vigils against the law, which started April 19, the week Gov. Jan Brewer signed it, Gordon made several appearances, including one with Colombia-born and Grammy Award winner Shakira.
The singer was in Phoenix to show solidarity to the Hispanic community and the mayor. During her visit to City Hall, Gordon showed members of the media that his office has received numerous hate letters and faxes calling him and his office “traitors” for turning his back on the state.
One such fax stated, “You are a traitor to Arizona and America…Each of you should be arrested, tried in court, found guilty of treason and HANGED from the nearest tree, death to traitors.
”Gordon, whose grandparents migrated to the United States fleeing Europe during the height of anti-Semitism before and during World War II, has maintained that immigration needs to be fixed through reform and not through questionable enforcement and hateful tactics, especially those that target people based on race.
“This is America, this is Arizona and this is 2010. We are not going backward. We need to go forward, so we’ll fight this,” Gordon said.
Since the bill was signed, Gordon has been meeting with top-level officials in the White House, the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security to get the federal government to intercede and challenge the law.
During his visit to Washington Gordon said, he was optimistic about getting the Justice Department to take action.
Meanwhile, back in his home state, Gordon faces an uneasy climate as the bill remains popular, but still triggers strong opposition.
Puente, the Arizona based activist organization, says it plans to keep pushing for gatherings at the Phoenix capitol and elsewhere in the state until the law is overturned.
On May 29, the organization will hold a march in its “National Day of Action.”
“Every week there’s something going on and we are not going to stop,” said Puente representative Sandra Castro.
TV News Chief Re-signs after Rejecting Tape Showing Police Beating Youth
by Rosalba Ruíz
Seattle television station KCPQ-TV is taking heat for not immediately airing a video of police officers pummeling Martín Monetti, 21, during a downtown armed robbery investigation involving “Hispanic males.”
Freelance videographer Jud Morris captured images of offi cers beating and kicking Monetti, who was lying on the pavement. At one point an officer told him, “I’m going to beat the (expletive) Mexican piss out of you, homey! You feel me?”
Upon establishing that Monetti was an uninvolved bystander, police released him at the scene.
Morris offered his video to the Fox affiliate, for whom he had worked that day.
The station’s news management said it had no intention of airing the video because the police action was not “egregious,” according to Morris, so he posted it on YouTube.
Later he sold it to competitor KIRO-TV for $100. Almost a month later, as the story built, KCPQ did run the footage.
KCPQ stated that because the video is “very disturbing,” it would have done a disservice to the community and to the police department” if it did not first investigate the matter further.
News director Steve Kraycik has since resigned.
Monetti has obtained legal counsel and is reportedly preparing a claim against the police. Hispanic Link.
