John Bogna
Brownsville City Commissioner Cesar De Leon apologized Tuesday night at a public meeting for using the n-word and f-word while referring to two female, African American assistant district attorneys at the Cameron County District Attorney’s office.
Videos by Rare
RELATED: Changing Robes: A Man’s Insight Into the KKK is Helping Him Fight Racism
The apology came amid calls for his resignation; a petition published in the Brownsville Herald newspaper on Sunday garnered more than 300 signatures asking him to resign.
“I profoundly regret my choice of words and am sincerely apologetic for having used the language I did. I know I hurt my constituents and have disappointed my friends and family, and most of all, myself,” he provided in a statement, according to thehill.com.
But, apology or not, he still won’t step down from his position:
“Despite the shame that comes with this incident, I will not stop honoring my commitment to the people of Brownsville, nor will I back down in my fight for our great community,” De Leon said in a statement after his apology, according to the Brownsville Herald.
Brownsville isn’t the only city dealing with a potentially racially-related comment:
Houston suburb Pasadena encountered a racially-accused incident during a council meeting when the city’s mayor Johnny Isbell called Hispanic City Councilman Cody Wheeler ‘boy.’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJTT4DZTQMw
Isbell, too, publicly apologized for the incident, denying it was racist.
That said, he did introduced redistricting legislation found to be discriminatory in courts, which left Wheeler wondering whether Isbell’s words were legitimate:
“This is a mayor who has … pushed through discriminatory voting practices and now is using condescending language to minority council members,” he said in an interview. “I don’t know how else you take it, when you put it in context. I’m sure he didn’t mean to say it. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t feel it.”
DeLeon’s remarks were shared via leaked audio recordings of him talking about the two assistant district attorneys, among which included:
“There are a couple of [F-word and N-word] that Luis Saenz is getting, and I don’t know where he is getting them from.”
His unknowingly remarks continued:
“They are coming down to my [F-word] city and now they are trying to [F-word] put everybody in jail because they think we are a bunch of Mexicans that hit our wives, which couldn’t be further from the [F-word] truth, but that is how they see us.”
Sorry Not Sorry; Texas Lawmaker Cesar De Leon Apologizes For Getting Caught Being Racist #legalnews https://t.co/hz6WEAp5t0 pic.twitter.com/JNJ7P4LifM
— Gotham City Esq. (@Gothamcityesq) October 2, 2017
