More on the Port Authority resignation

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Yesterday, the Chronicle editorial board focused on a question that Sedosi raised in regard to the resignation of a Port Authority commissioner:

Recently, after Thompson-Draper complained about fellow Commissioner Kase Lawal’s status as vice chairman, the story of the racial remark surfaced in a letter from Harris County Commissioner El Franco Lee to county and port officials. Once the media got copies of the missive, pressure built on Thompson-Draper, and Friday she resigned from the commission. In her farewell letter, the commissioner denied making such a comment and wrote: “I wish the allegations had been raised at that time (seven months ago) when I could have more readily defended myself.” So do we.

The manner in which the allegation surfaced is troubling. It leaves the strong implication that whatever the accuracy of accounts of the racial remarks made in China, the timing of its dissemination to the public was dictated by Thompson-Draper’s criticism of a politically connected colleague. It appears politics as well as moral outrage played a role in the events leading to her resignation.

[snip]

Racially offensive statements by public officials are intolerable, particularly by port commissioners who represent our ethnically diverse city in international arenas. By letting Thompson-Draper’s alleged remarks fester for seven months, port officials allowed the issue to become confused with petty politics.

In the future, traveling commissioners should be on notice that if they engage in inappropriate comments or behavior, be it in Shanghai or Timbuktu, such actions will not be swept under the rug or filed away to be resurrected when politically convenient.

So does that last paragraph mean the Chronicle editorial board will be opening up their secretive meetings with “important” people to cameras, so we can see what “important” people say as they say it, instead of tempting the Chronicle editorialists to let it filter out when convenient?

Yeah, probably not.

We’re a little curious as to why El Franco Lee’s role in the matter doesn’t get a little more scrutiny from the editorialists, speaking of “important” people.

Sedosi comments further on the editorial here.


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