By Dan Murphy
As calls continue from Westchester democrats and Latino groups for Congressman Mike Lawler to apologize for his comments last week at a meeting with the Westchester County Board of Legislators in which he said to Legislator Jose Alvarado, “I don’t know, I assume you’re a citizen. Maybe you are not, maybe you are,” Lawler has refused and instead circulated a letter from several Westchester Latinos supporting the Congressman.
The two most prominent names who signed the letter are former County Legislator Virginia Perez and former Peekskill Councilman Joe Tores.
The letter reads-“Congressman Lawler has been a friend of the Latino community in the Hudson Valley for year and these personal attacks against him are just wrong. Mike has been a strong supporter of community organizations that directly serve Latinos-and has been honored by those same organizations for his friendship and partnership during his time in elected office. He has also been a bipartisan advocate of common sense immigration reform.
“The attempts to twist his words into something sinister is a sad reflection of our current political environment, where people immediately attack someone they disagree with instead of engaging in a productive discourse. Those in the Latino community know that Congressman Lawler is our friend, and we look forward to continuing to work with him on key issues facing our community. ” ;end of letter
“From Vice Chair Alvarado’s predecessor to former members of the Peekskill City Council and leaders of prestigious community organizations, it’s clear the ridiculous attacks on Congressman Lawler are overblown and hyper partisan,” said Lawler spokesman Nate Soule.
“The Congressman’s record as a bipartisan problem solver and thoughtful lawmaker is clear,” concluded Soule. “Those engaging in this absurd character assassination only do so because they can’t debate immigration policy or defend their own radical beliefs and votes.”
