‘Proud racist’ comment roils Santa Clarita

Carlos Alvarez, right, a spokesman for the anti-racist organization Answer Coalition, argues with Robert Crooks, second from left, a member of the Minutemen, outside Santa Clarita City Hall.

A Santa Clarita councilman’s shout-out at a recent anti-illegal immigration rally that he is a “proud racist” has ignited an angry war of words in a suburban community over whether the longtime civic leader is a hatemonger who should be driven from office or a patriot unafraid to speak out for fellow Americans.

Bob Kellar, a veteran councilman and two-time mayor, said his words have been taken out of context, but he declined to offer an apology at a City Council meeting Tuesday night.

But the remark, which was posted in a video on You Tube and quickly spread across the blogosphere, has set off a firestorm. As protesters carrying signs milled outside the council meeting, dozens of Santa Clarita residents jumped on the issue. Many applauded Kellar when he strode into the meeting.

“They are invading us, and colonizing us . . . and we taxpayers are footing the bill for them,” lifelong Santa Clarita resident and Minutemen member Robert Crooks, 59, said of undocumented workers. For the last five years, Crooks said, he has volunteered as a sentry on the U.S.-Mexico border in Tecate, keeping watch for border-hoppers.

Bruce McFarland, a political organizer and 32-year resident of the Santa Clarita Valley, called Kellar “an embarrassment” and urged the council to censure him, which elicited boos and expletives from the audience.

The controversy stems from a Jan. 16 anti-immigration rally in Santa Clarita; Kellar spoke and referred to a statement by former President Theodore Roosevelt that the United States has a place for only one flag and one language.

Source:
'Proud racist' comment roils Santa Clarita
latimes.com