Too Many Blacks at City Hall!
LOL! Emile, you RASCAL! Who could have guessed you worked for David Duke and ran for office on the famous and popular "Too Many Blacks" agenda?
LOL!
The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.)
September 23, 1995 Saturday METRO EDITION
Vidrine: Too many blacks at city hall
BYLINE: BRUCE SCHULTZ, ACADIANA BUREAU
LAFAYETTE - Emile Vidrine, candidate for city-parish president,
told realtors Friday that too many black people are working in city
hall, depriving Caucasians off those jobs.
He said 31 percent of the employees in city hall are black,
compared to the minority population in the city which is less than 20
percent.
"Folks, that's un-Christian and unjust," he told the Lafayette
Board of Realtors. Vidrine, a Republican, ran for mayor in 1992 and he came in last
with 603 votes, less than 2 percent of the total.
He said an affirmative action program at city hall gives an
advantage to black people, and that keeps white people out of those
jobs.
"We are discriminating against white people, and it has to stop,"
he said.
But officials in city hall deny any affirmative action quotas are
used in hiring.
Vidrine also spoke out against the "moral crisis" facing the U.S.
He said the nation must return to Christianity.
"The impasse between the mayor and City Council is an impasse of
spirituality and morality," Vidrine said. "They could not forgive one
and another for the good of Lafayette.
Parish President Walter Comeaux said unrest in city government has
stalled progress in the city.
"Nothing's moving because of dissension, because of bickering," he
said.
Comeaux said he favors the Camellia Boulevard bridge, Louisiana
Avenue extension and a South College Road bridge over Bayou Vermilion.
Comeaux said parish government has reduced its workforce by 41
percent through layoffs, reflecting the economy of the mid-1980s.
"We all took a beating and we all suffered," he said.
But parish government has increased its productivity.
"We took the high road and we didn't fight," he said.
Parish Councilman Ed Roy said Lafayette government will change in
June with the new city-parish government.
"If we don't change the politics, we haven't changed anything," he
said.
Roy said a high-capacity water system is needed for all of
Lafayette Parish to attract new businesses. And he said the parish
needs a comprehensive development plan to decide issues related to
future growth.
Government should help businesses, he said.
City Councilman Elmo Laborde said he's the youngest of the
candidates, at age 35, but his background as an accountant and lawyer
enables him to understand fiscal and legal issues.
He said as a city councilman he has become familiar with problems
facing the city that are out of the realm of parish government.
Laborde said his even temper allows him to deal with controversy.
"Throughout it all, I've kept my focus on why I was elected," he
said.
Laborde said he's disagreed and agreed with others based on
principles, not personalities.
City Councilman F.V. "Pappy" Landry said he's not accepting any
campaign contributions, freeing him for political obligations.
"My goal is to bring about efficiency and effectiveness of
government," he said.
He said he would only eliminate civil service jobs through
attrition, and he would require city police to cooperate with the
sheriff's office.
Chris Kole Obafunwa was not at the meeting.
The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal ruled Thursday that he cannot run
for the office because he lacks U.S. citizenship. |
