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Manhattan Beep's Aide Resigns Over Facebook Comments On Gates Arrest
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 28, 2009
Modified Jul 28, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 28, 2009
Modified Jul 28, 2009
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Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer's deputy press aide resigned, due to a series of Facebook posts and comments she made related to the arrest of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. Lee Landor, who had been working in Stringer's office since May, complained, "You know what, I am really getting SICK of hearing about how white people are evil racists. Black people, Hispanic people, Indian people, Asian people, whoever, are being over-the-top racists in recent weeks, as highlighted in the media since the Sotomayor-New Haven issue," and also called President Obama "O-Dumb-a" while saying that Gates was the racist.
City Hall News has screengrabs of Landor's posts—which were made with links to Daily News articles about the controversy—as well as her comments, pointing out they were made "at 11:43 a.m. on Friday, July 24, while Landor was apparently working in the borough president’s office" (she also posted to Stringer's official government blog that day) and then at 12:32 p.m. When one commenter questioned, "Is racial profiling still not an issue in this country?" Landor responded, "And racial profiling does exist, but for good reason. Take a look at this country's jails: who makes up the majority of inmates? Exactly."
The Citizens Union's Dick Dadey told City Hall News, "The use of social networking sites during the work day by government employees is not something that should be permitted, unless it is specifically a part of a communication effort of the elected official or department for which they work. Commenting on a political matter not germane to the performance of their job during work hours is questionable.” And Stringer said, "Ms. Landor's comments were totally inappropriate and in direct contradiction to the views of the Borough President and his office. The Borough President has accepted Ms. Landor's resignation, effective immediately."
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city hall news
Henry Louis Gates Jr.
Lee Landor
manhattan borough president scott stringer
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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