Leaders: Dean Tried to Appoint Minorities (AP)

[dajabr]

January 12, 2004, 5:13 PM EST


MONTPELIER, Vt. -- During more than a decade as Vermont governor, Howard Dean did not appoint any blacks or Hispanics to his Cabinet, but minority leaders say it was not for lack of trying in the nearly all-white state.

None of Dean's five cabinet secretaries or top commissioners was Hispanic or black during the more than 11 years he served in office, as he was forced to concede during a Democratic presidential debate Sunday.

Dean pointed out during the debate that he had hired as a senior staff member a black woman. He did not mention that Bonnie Aten-Johnson worked part time while keeping a job with the Burlington, Vt., schools.

Contending that recruiting minorities for high-level posts in state government is difficult in a state that is nearly 98 percent white, one black leader who met regularly with Dean praised his efforts as governor. He recalled turning down Dean's requests to serve in the administration.

More: http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-democrats-minorities,0,1698744.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines

[Hoppin_Mad]

1. Good article -eom-

[stickdog]

2. So what's next, grandstanders? (nt)

[Padraig18]

3. But, but, but, but....

.... he's a racist, right? :eyes:

[NewYorkerfromMass]

4. But, but, but, but,,,, he didn't say that last night

and Howard's supposedly quick on his feet. :shrug:

[Padraig18]

5. But, but, but, but...

... who thought Al would play the race card?

[dajabr]

13. Read the article...

--snip--

Campaigning in Iowa, Dean explained that with a handful of Cabinet slots and little turnover, he didn't have many positions to fill, and he had trouble competing with better job recruiters such as IBM and the University of Vermont.

"I'm not the least bit ashamed of defensive about my civil rights record," he told reporters. "I was taken aback by the reverend's (Al Sharpton's) attack and I should have perhaps been a little quicker on my feet. But we made every effort we could and by and large were successful."

[Fleshdancer]

17. What? You mean the man is...what's the word....human?

The whole freakin' point of almost everyone attacking Dean was to catch him off guard and now people will try to use the fact that it finally happened as a way to insult Dean. :eyes:

Now that's a stretch.

Thanks for your quick reply concerning this Dajabr.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

20. Mr. "back in you face" was taken aback?

I don't believe that. I believe he had no idea what his administration had done or tried. And this is the guy who accused Al Gore of not being quick on his feet.
Pathetic.

[Fleshdancer]

23. think what you must to get through the day

Dean has had to defend himself from nasty attacks for months. Heaven forbid one should catch him off guard.

And you believe he had no idea what his administration had done or tried??? Is this wishful thinking because you refuse to agree with anything Dean says or do you have any proof to back up such a ridiculous claim?

[NewYorkerfromMass]

25. and so you

I wonder if he's figured out old testament from new in his diligent Bible readings yet?

[Eloriel]

61. His reputation is as a very hands-on Gov. -- didn't you read

the article? Don't want to mess up your cherished prejudices with a few facts?

As for the Old/New Testament thing -- have you never in your life misspoken? That kind of overly picky and criticism over NOTHING actually undercuts your credibility.

Eloriel

[Duder]

24. I believe that you have no idea what you're talking about

'Dean referred to the unrest over civil unions and called this year "a wake up call" for Vermonters who believed their state was free of bigotry and discrimination.

To reduce the chance of racial disparity in the criminal justice system in Vermont, Dean and other officials urged minority representation on civic boards and in corrections, law enforcement and in the courts.

He said both the minority and majority populations have the responsibility "to reach out, to learn and to walk in each other's shoes" to make the issue of race invisible in Vermont.

"I want the average Vermonter ... to walk into court and see a black judge and think nothing of it. I want the average Vermonter to go to the Environmental Board and see all different hues ... because race has nothing to do with that."'

December 8, 2000
http://rutlandherald.com/hdean/16628

[americanconfusion]

32. I'm not sure i like what i saw

I like Rev Al Sharpton actually I'm torn between both Al Sharpton and Howard Dean when deciding who i think is a better representative. I think that it a good discovery by Sharpton to find that there were no minorities on Howard Deans staff in Vermont yet i believe that this was a question that shouldn't have been brought up in the debate. It makes Howard Dean look like a racist and common now were all democrats we know that there is a 95% chance that it is not true. I think that the interest in being inside Dean's cabinet was just not an interest by many minorities. If were all equal why does it matter what color serves on your cabinet. I think Dean was just trying to find the best man for the job, I doubt that race had anything to do with it. Its not his fault if no blacks or Hispanics applied for the positions. He cant recruit more people just because there isn't enough diversity.
And one other thing did they give any statistics about how many blacks and Hispanics applied for the job. That could be key in getting to the Bottom of this.

[mouse7]

47. There were minorities on his staff. Not on 6 member cabinet.

Dean had multiple minority members on his staff. What is at issue is minority membership of the six seat cabinet.

It's also clear that Dean tried to recruit minorities to both his staff and his cabinet now. The barrier wasn't Dean. The barrier was the amount that Vermont state government paid.

[stickdog]

49. There are SIX people in Dean's cabinet. 1 in 200 Vermonters is

African American.

Dean's STAFF had people of color, just not his cabinet. And his cabinet had an Asian American, and there are more Asian American in VT than there are African Americans.

[JaneQPublic]

6. He made offers, but they turned him down

"He asked if I had an interest or if I knew of anyone who had an interest," said Vaughn Carney, a lawyer and executive with a financial services company. "I myself was constrained by other commitments. I wasn't aware of anyone who would be qualified or would be available."

Carney accepted posts on three low-profile commissions. "Those who have assumed the mantle of leadership in Vermont's very small black community are fully aware of Dr. Dean's commitment to inclusion, to diversity, and to fairness," he said.

---snip

"It wasn't that Howard didn't try," said Kathy Hoyt, Dean's former chief of staff. "He asked everybody to recruit for us in the minority community." Hoyt said one effort to recruit a black man to the Cabinet fell through because he would not be paid as much as he was making in Massachusetts. She could not recall the man's name or the position he was offered.

Campaigning in Iowa, Dean explained that with a handful of Cabinet slots and little turnover, he didn't have many positions to fill, and he had trouble competing with better job recruiters such as IBM and the University of Vermont.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

7. I suspect his efforts were less than genuine

or he would have said this last night in his own defense.

[Padraig18]

8. Howard the Evil.

God forbid he would have made a genuine offer...:eyes:

[w4rma]

9. Just concede that you are wrong on this, NewYorkerfromMass, and

move on to your next smear on Dean, please. Thank you.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

21. I'm not wrong. The issue is obviously not close to Dean's heart

or he would have had this answer last night.

[Name removed]

48. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[stickdog]

12. Or maybe he was simply taken aback by Sharpton's vicious low blow?

No, it couldn't be that ...

[spooky3]

27. What if Dean felt as free to call Sharpton out

as he feels toward others, and as Edwards did toward Braun when he felt she attacked him with faulty info?

I think Sharpton believes everyone will give him a pass.

[killbotfactory]

15. Obviously...

I heard he voted for Clay Aiken in the last American idol. If that doesn't show his blatant racist attitudes, I don't know what does.

[spooky3]

28. no, you need better evidence than suspicions to be convincing.

The debate format did not provide the opportunity to discuss efforts made to recruit all underrepresented groups and describe the search for EACH position over all the years.

[KaraokeKarlton]

34. Clark is going to beat Kerry in NH

I guess some Kerry supporters are too bitter over Dean earning the frontrunner status by working harder than everyone else. They would be better served focusing all that bitter energy into fighting for their candidate's survival in NH and beyond.

[RetroLounge]

58. I suspect that if Dean himself were Black

you'd still have a problem with it.

[MoonAndSun]

10. This thread is dropping like a rock,

I would like at least some acknowledgement from the Dean critics about this story.

[dave29]

11. yeah

good luck with that ;)

[MoonAndSun]

16. I'm an optimist.....

I always have hope. :hi:

[RetroLounge]

59. No kidding.

There all out on Google looking for more junk to post.

[Eloriel]

64. Nah, they don't have to work that hard

It comes already resarched and digested.

Eloriel

[bitchkitty]

14. Kicking -

let's not let it drop! After enduring the countless Dean-is-a-racist threads, I came damned close to burning my bridges here. We need this to stay up.

[slinkerwink]

40. same here too

:shrug:

[killbotfactory]

18. Another trumped up non-issue

Shot down...

I can't wait to hear what esle they come up with!

[MoonAndSun]

22. Look at post #19.....

that will answer your question.

[mouse7]

54. Not completely trumped up

Dean probably should move from presenting himself as a lecturer on the subject of racial relations. Dean would be better served by taking more of the Clinton public image of "eager learner." The reason Clinton did so well with cultural sensitivity issues is because he spent far more time questioning and listening. Dean can and should bring up the subject, but he should do it in a matter that seems to seek solutions as opposed to providing them.

[bigtree]

19. He tried but he couldn't

The governor couldn't influence salaries? I still maintain that to do the difficult takes commitment. The Governor showed that he did not have the commitment to get it done. Anyhow it puts to rest all the blather about it being unnecessary to have minorities in his cabinet. He made motions as governor (not enough in my view) that would indicate that, at the least, he and the people around him felt that the pursuit of minorities for cabinet positions had merit.

It's not,as some have suggested,that Gov. Dean was a racist. I question his commitment however, to ensuring that minorities were represented in his cabinet. I don't think he tried hard enough. That's important to me.

[indigo32]

26. Wow looks like folks were wrong about him

including Sharpton. HMMMMMM

[bigtree]

29. Sharpton said he didn't have any blacks or hispanics in his cabinet

I still think he didn't try hard enough. For me, zero in 11 years is a failure of commitment by the Governor, notwithstanding salary disputes with prospective considerees.

[indigo32]

30. You are entitled to your opinion

I'm entitled to mine. Seems like certain AA leaders within VT feel he had a strong commitment to inclusion. So I'm not basing my opinion on nothing.

[FubarFly]

31. Kick for the truth.

:kick:

Like there was any doubt ;-)

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

33. Jeez, 280 posts of vitriol on that other thread.....

I don't see anyone apologizing here. Tells you all you need to know about what's happening at DU these days.

[slinkerwink]

35. I'm kicking for the good doctor!

damn the lying liars!

[bigtree]

36. what's to apologize?

The word of his chief of staff and an appointee that he tried? Not hard enough for me. I think the results of zero minorities in 11 years in his cabinet reflects a low level of commitment to appointing minorities to those positions at a time that Gov. Dean wasn't trolling for primary votes. I have a right to make that judgement. You have a right to disagree. But I see nothing in the article that would persuade me that I am wrong in my assessment of his commitment.

[slinkerwink]

37. oh, come on, what was Dean supposed to do?

Wave around a big billboard saying, "Please come work in a rural state where we have more cows than people?"

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

38. Let's just say that I'll trust Sheila Jackson-Lee and not some

unknown blogger.


Or maybe I could trust:


Wally Amos former owner of Famous Amos Cookies Hawaii
Hon. Curt Anderson State Delegate, Judiciary Committee Member Baltimore Maryland
Jennings Bernard Radio Personality Memphis Tennessee
Roger Bruce State Representative Georgia
Gloria Butler State Senator Atlanta Georgia
Peggy Butler Mayor pro tem West Columbia South Carolina
Annette Carter State Representative Hartford Connecticut
Eric Coleman State Senator Connecticut
Elijah Cummings Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressman from Maryland, Senior Advisor to Dean Campaign Baltimore Maryland
Ivan Earle Businessman Columbia South Carolina
Maria Echaveste Senior Advisor to Dean Campaign, Attorney, Consultant, Former Deputy Chief of Staff for Clinton District of Columbia
Christopher Edley, Jr. Senior Advisor to Dean Campaign, Dean of UC Berkley's Law School, Co-Founder of Harvard Civil Rights Project Massachusetts
Bill Edwards County Commissioner Fulton County Georgia
Carl Eggleston Chair of 5th District Farmville Virginia
Burrell Ellis County Commissioner Dekalb County Georgia
Bill Euille Mayor of Alexandria Alexandria Virginia
Adrian Fenty City Councilman District of Columbia
Lydia Flora Safeco Manager Seattle Washington
Dian Ferguson 37th Legislative District Chair Seattle Washington
Robert Flemming Funeral Home Director Manning South Carolina
Rosa Franklin State Senator; Retired Nurse Tacoma Washington
Gloria Gaynor Entertainer
Terry Gregory San Jose City Council San Jose California
Whoopi Goldberg Entertainer
Lawrence Guyot Activist District of Columbia
John Howard City Commissioner Albany Georgia
Lembhard Howell Civil Rights Attorney Seattle Washington
Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. Congressman, House Appropriations Committee Illinois
Jonathan D. Jackson Businessman, Civil Rights Advocate
Hank Johnson County Commissioner Dekalb County Georgia
Vernon Jones CEO of Dekalb County, Georgia Georgia
Sandra Kennedy former State Senator Arizona
Sheila Jackson-Lee Congresswoman Texas
David Mack III State Representative, Chair-elect of SC General Assembly's Black Caucus Charleston South Carolina
George Maddox State Representative Georgia
Ruth Jones McClendon State Representative Texas
Marvin McGraw Chair of local Springfield Democratic Committee Springfield Virginia
Bertha McDaniel State Democratic Party Ofc. Manager Seattle Washington
Zachary James Miller Executive Vice-Chair of Democrats Abroad France, Chairman of Minority Caucus of DAF Paris, France Voting State: Ohio
Billy Mitchell State Representative Gwinnett County Georgia
Howard Mosby State Representative Atlanta Georgia
Hon. Gareth Murray State Delegate, Freshman Legislator, Outstanding Member of Economic Matters and Health Committee Maryland
Vincent Orange Councilman Ward 5 District of Columbia
Nan Orrock State Representative Georgia
Major Owens U.S. Congressman Brooklyn New York
Hon. Obie Patterson LEG Black Caucus Maryland
Nick Perry NYC Assemblyman New York
Andrea "Andi" Pringle Deputy Campaign Manager for Dean, former Campaign Manager for Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun
Ken Reeves Cambridge City Council Cambridge Massachusetts
Ron Sailor State Representative Georgia
Kurt Schmoke former Mayor Maryland
Robert C. "Bobby" Scott Congressman; Dean's Virginia Campaign Manager Virginia
Valencia Seay State Senator Atlanta Georgia
Marianne Spraggins DNC Member Georgia
Lanett Stanley-Turner State Representative Atlanta Georgia
Pam Stevenson State Representative Georgia
Stanley Stewart Vice Chair of the 15th Congressional District Democrats Michigan
Terrence Thomas Lawyer Michigan
Lou Walker County Commissioner Dekalb County Georgia
Tony Walker State Representative New Haven Connecticut
Stan Watson State Representative Dekalb County Georgia
Seth Whipper State Representative Charleston South Carolina
Forrest Williams San Jose City Council San Jose California
Tim Zenk VP of Marketing, Chameleon Technology Seattle Washington

http://www.blacksfordean.com/endorsements.htm

[slinkerwink]

39. I'd place my trust in those people than in Sharpton

given his past antisemitic history...

[bigtree]

41. Al's just the messenger

bless his heart.

[SadEagle]

44. And his history of helping the GOP

eom

[bigtree]

45. this won't work

the facts of this issue didn't originate with Rev. Sharpton. They were in a newspaper. Damn that anti-semetic, GOP loving paper!:eyes:

[SadEagle]

46. I object to you saying "bless his heart"...

...to a man who would help Alfonse D'Amato and George Pataki

[bigtree]

42. I can't know for sure

But I'll bet they were as taken aback by the fact, spoken by Rev. Sharpton, as I was. Doesn't mean they would have the temerity to strip away or anything.

But their endorsement is another issue. As Rev. Sharpton said in the debate: " You don't need a co-signer if your credit's good."

[stickdog]

53. More bullshit. You get endorsements because your "credit" is

good not bad.

Are you and Sharpton really arguing that endorsements from African American leaders are a bad sign?

If not, what the hell are your arguing?

[bigtree]

56. That he hasn't demonstrated enough of a commitment to place a minority

in cabinet as governor. He has no credible excuse for it as far as I am concerned. No list of supporters can change the fact that he did not find any minority to serve in his cabinet.

Perhaps, though, it was a reflection on the governor that they wouldn't serve.

[stickdog]

67. Your argument is SO full of it. We are talking about a state in which

Lt. Governor is a part-time job.

Nobody gets rich serving in state government in VT. That's the way it's always been, and that's the way Vermonters like it.

And you argue that Dean needed to end that 250 year old tradition in order to import somebody from another state to make a token gesture to a 0.5% minority constituency?

Your argument is patently ridiculous.

[SadEagle]

43. Add Rochester, NY mayor Bill Johnson to the list.

Source:
http://www.takeyourcountryback.com/DEAN/ENDORSEMENTS/Howard_Dean_Endorsements.htm

I read this in the local Rochester newspaper a while back...
edit: change some source info, a link was broken, copied from an index w/o checking -- oops

[askew]

50. Thanks for posting this article.

Nice to actually get comments from people in Vermont who know what they are talking about regarding Dean's record on race issues. Also, Dean brought up a point that I tried to make yesterday, that not only were there only a few positions, there was very low turnover in those 6 cabinet positions. Was Dean supposed to force a minority to work in one of these cabinet posts, after he fired a qualified cabinet member, simply because he was the wrong color? Also, there is no way that the State of Vermont could afford to compete with the private sector in terms of wages. Most of the politicans in Vermont have another job outside of government. Vermont's budget just isn't big enough to pay someone those kind of wages.

[ClarkGraham2004]

51. Why can't he defend himself in a debate?

Instead of in press releases the following day?

[slinkerwink]

52. because it's hard to accuse sharpton of grandstanding since

sharpton can call you a racist, and doesn't care if that's true or not.

[stickdog]

55. Isn't the answer obvious?

The obvious defense is to say, "Only 1 in 200 Vermonters is black."

However, that fact highlights Dean's only REAL weakness on race.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

57. Because he really didn't honestly believe he had tried to find anyone

It's basic psychology.
Dean came up short because he lacked any plausible answer.
It took a day of scrambling to cover his ass.

[stickdog]

65. Wrong. He came up short because the issue was lose/lose.

His obvious defense is that his state is overwhelmingly white.

However, that's not something he wants to shout about from the rooftops.

[RetroLounge]

60. Kicking the truth

right back in their dean-bashing faces.

:kick:

Slap this donkey, Rev. Sharpton, you hypocrite.

[slinkerwink]

63. here's a kick for the lying liars.....

[SadEagle]

62. kick

a lot of people should read this, imho

[mzmolly]

66. Thanks for the perspective. Bookmarked for future reference.

:hi:

[stickdog]

68. Yes. please keep this article handy.

I'm sure we haven't seen the last of this particular non-issue.

[dajabr]

69. Kick

:kick: