Some See Racism In Candidate's Ads
LINK
Some see racism in candidate's ads
Irving mayoral hopeful drops 'third world' wording after complaint
09:41 PM CDT on Monday, May 2, 2005
By ERIC AASEN / The Dallas Morning News
Irving mayoral candidate Terry Waldrum asked residents in a newspaper advertisement if they were "tired of the neighborhood businesses that look like they belong in a third world country" or "West Dallas."
Some minority leaders say the ads – which Mr. Waldrum reworded after receiving a complaint – are racist.
Reaction to the ads follows recent events that some say have fanned racial tensions in Irving.
Results of a recent city survey included dozens of negative comments about Irving's growing minority population, including: "Quit pandering to illegal immigrants." In addition, black and Hispanic students were involved in a fight this year at Irving High School. And in January, a Hispanic man said he was struck by an Irving police officer who was fired after the incident.
Mr. Waldrum, a former Irving City Council and school board member, said he never intended to run an ad that could be interpreted as racist. Hearing from the community caused him to re-examine the content, said Mr. Waldrum, who said diversity in Irving is "a good thing."
Hispanics make up about 31 percent of Irving's population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2000 data.
"I saw their point, and that's why we changed it," Mr. Waldrum said.
Manny Benavides, president of the Irving chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said, "If this is not bigotry, if this is not racism, I don't know what is."
Anthony Bond, past president of the NAACP's Irving chapter, called the ads "veiled racism."
"There's no place for it," he said. "It's a slap in the face to all people who believe in racial equality."
Two versions of Mr. Waldrum's ad ran in the February and March editions of the Irving Rambler, a weekly publication. The ads begin with a question: "Are you tired of your family and friends moving out of Irving?"
The ads also state: "Are you tired of multiple families living in the single-family rental property next door?" and "Are you tired of the trash and numerous vehicles parked in your neighbor's yard?"
Mr. Waldrum, who ran for Congress last year, said he dropped the "third world country" reference in the ad after receiving a phone call from a person concerned about the content.
"I got one complaint, and that's all I needed to make a change," he said.
He replaced "third world country" with "West Dallas." He said he received no complaints after making the change.
The ads were designed to address code enforcement, said Mr. Waldrum, one of seven candidates running for mayor. Code enforcement has been one of the hottest topics in Irving in recent months, with residents complaining about the need for better enforcement and the council studying possible code reforms.
But Mr. Benavides said that the ads shed light on underlying racial tension. Some in Irving are blaming Hispanics for "everything that's wrong in the city," he said. Council member James Dickens, the council's only Hispanic, doesn't consider the ads to be racist. But, he said, the ad "leaves room for interpretation – and not good interpretation."
Herbert Gears, a mayoral candidate and former council member, said he doesn't think Mr. Waldrum intended to offend anyone through his ads. But the ad "unfairly characterizes certain people in a negative way. Looking for blame and wanting to characterize something in a negative fashion is not going to be part of the solution," he said.
Hortensia Lucas can relate. The owner of Arturo's, a Mexican restaurant in Irving, said that some former diners, who are white, have moved from south Irving to the city's north side because of the increasing diversity in their neighborhoods.
The city needs more support for Hispanics, she said.
"We need more Hispanic politicians that will inspire us," she said.
Mr. Waldrum said in a candidate debate last month that city officials must do a better job of interacting with Hispanics to inform them of city services.
"You have to show up where they live, where they work, in their neighborhoods," Mr. Waldrum said at the debate.
Since late March, Mr. Waldrum's ads in the Rambler have taken a different tone. More recent ads tell readers: "I am asking you to take a positive step and make a change in Irving's direction!"
Al DÃÂ*a staff writer Ignacio Laguarda contributed to this report.
E-mail eaasen@dallasnews
