Parks commish condemned for Minuteman involvement

Parks commish condemned for Minuteman involvement
Kansas City councilwoman says border group 'one step from KKK'

A newly appointed parks commissioner in Kansas City, Mo., is being condemned by the city council for being part of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps – which wants to secure the American border against unauthorized individuals, military and contraband.

"This is one step from the KKK," city council member Beth Gottstein told the Kansas City Star. "My world is totally rocked by this. We fight this every day. I am grieving for my friends in the Hispanic community."

Frances Semler, 73, was appointed to the city position just recently. This week she attended her first meeting of the group assigned to acquire, build, develop and maintain parks. And after the controversy erupted, she offered Mayor Mark Funkhouser her resignation, but he declined.

"I told her to hang in here," he said.

Semler declined to elaborate on the situation for WND right now. "I don't want to say anything at this point. This is really a divisive thing. Let's let it cool down a while," she told WND.

Hispanic, Jewish and black community leaders are outraged because the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps is a group that opposes illegal immigration. There have been accusations that it is a hate group that encourages violent vigilantism, but officials with the organization told WND that is not correct.

A protest rally included members of the Coalition of Hispanic Organizations, the NAACP, the Jewish Community Relations Bureau and others. Rev. Nelson Thompson said there Semler's appointment was a mayoral "lapse" in judgment and accused the Minuteman group of having a history of violence, terrorism and hate.

The turbulence resulted in a hastily prepared resolution approved by the city council, which asks Semler to resign or the mayor recommend her removal.

The resolution notes that "without the confidence of elected officials of the City and the residents of the City the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners cannot be effective in its mission" and "Semler will likely be a divisive force in our community."

"Be it resolved by the council of Kansas City: Section 1. That the Council respectfully request Parks and Recreation Commissioner Frances Semler recognize the potential for community distrust … and respectfully requests her resignation," the resolution said.

"Section 2. That if Parks and Recreation Commissioner Frances Semler does not resign within one week of the passage of this resolution, that the Mayor, in accordance with section 1001(b) of the City Charter is requested to recommend to the Council the removal of Commissioner Semler from the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners," it continued.

It was passed on a 9-2 vote, with two members abstaining.

But an acquaintance, who is involved with the Mid-America Immigration Reform Coalition, said Semler is being attacked unfairly for participating in an organization many view as patriotic and necessary, given the estimated 12-20 million illegal aliens within the U.S. border now, and the impact that segment of the population has on society.

"I have never seen this sort of hysterical reaction, and more, it's defamation," Joyce Mucci told WND. "It's an extraordinary thing that is happening in Kansas City."

She said one leader of the group opposing Semler publicly worried on a radio talk show that "she was afraid Frances is somehow going to detain people in the parks."

The mayor did hold a news conference after the Kansas City organizations condemned Semler's dedication to preserving the United States to express his commitment to his appointee.

Meanwhile, Judy Hellman, of the Jewish Community group, was encouraging city officials to remove Semler. A news release issued locally renounced the Minuteman group as vigilantes with an "anti-immigrant agenda that is premised upon taking the law into their own hands."

"I'm just amazed by all of this," Semler told the newspaper. "We need to get down to the business of the parks department." She said her goals are for children and families to have "safe, clean, fun parks."

Mucci said Semler is a fan of roses, and earlier had suggested that some parks be utilized to provide space for small vegetable gardens for inner-city children to work with.

"We have [a part of the] city council … who are more concerned that a 73-year-old woman is a member of the Minutemen than [about] the parks in the city," she told WND.

Semler has noted that the Minuteman group is not a hate group, and members do not take the law into their own hands.

"I'm for the rule of law, and I think that's the bedrock of this country," she said.

But Gottstein and other council members affirmed their offense by the group Semler is associated with and the views she expressed in interviews and in letters to the newspaper, including the suggestion the federal government halt legal immigration.

That opinion, from 2003, came from her statement: "It is time to stop most immigration until we can get control of this department and rethink our laws."

Councilwoman Jan Marcason worried if Semler remains, she will be the focal point of discussion and issues.

"If I truly cared about the parks, and that were my goal, I would step down,” she told the newspaper. "If I were mayor, I would not have chosen her. I would have vetted her. I would not have picked someone I knew very little about."

The mission statement for the Minuteman organization says: "It is the mission of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps to see the borders and coastal boundaries of the United States secured against the unlawful and unauthorized entry of all individuals, contraband, and foreign military. We will employ all means of civil protest, demonstration, and political lobbying to accomplish this goal."

The group's website continues: "You are considering joining the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps not because of bias towards people from another country, but rather because you feel your government owes the citizens of the United States protection from people who wish to take advantage of a free society."