FL repook resigns after leaving racial slurs and obsenities on voice mail

[KG]

gee, GOPers really are the cream of american society, aren't they?
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HIALEAH, Fla. (AP) -- State Rep. Ralph Arza resigned Wednesday from the Legislature, bowing to pressure to quit after leaving messages filled with obscenities and a racial slur on a colleague's voice mail.

The Hialeah Republican had been urged to resign by House Republicans and Gov. Jeb Bush after the messages left on Rep. Gus Barreiro's voice mail became public.

Arza apologized for his actions, asked for forgiveness and said he hoped his resignation would show he accepted the consequences of the messages. He said he didn't want to distract from the work of the Republican-led Legislature.

<SNIP>

Arza's resignation came just an hour before a special House panel was set to begin hearings on the case in Tallahassee. House Speaker Allan Bense appointed the panel to consider whether Arza should be expelled or suffer a lighter punishment. Arza had been expected to attend the hearings.

Arza previously acknowledged leaving the messages last month but said he was drunk.

He said he had learned that Barreiro had filed a complaint alleging he had earlier used a racial epithet when referring to Miami-Dade County school superintendent Rudy Crew, who is black. He used the same epithet in his phone message to Barreiro, who is Hispanic.

Arza said Wednesday his calls to Barreiro were made out of "frustration of eight months of being attacked unfairly for being a racist."

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FL_LAWMAKER_RACIST_REMARK_FLOL-?SITE=FLPET&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=state.shtml

[buff2]

1. Those scumbag racists

They are being outed all over the place,huh? I am loving it. :woohoo: :applause:

[Hand]

2. No doubt he'll be heading for rehab...

"Arza previously acknowledged leaving the messages last month but said he was drunk." :nopity:

[MADem]

3. Awwwww, but Jeb said HE DIDN'T MEEEEAAAAN it!!!!!

Way to get back at someone for calling you a racist, to prove the point on a recording!!!! And I see the GOP is gonna do a Foley substitute for the candidate!


He said he had learned that Barreiro had filed a complaint alleging he had earlier used a racial epithet when referring to Miami-Dade County school superintendent Rudy Crew, who is black. He used the same epithet in his phone message to Barreiro, who is Hispanic.

Arza said Wednesday his calls to Barreiro were made out of "frustration of eight months of being attacked unfairly for being a racist."

Arza has vehemently denied that he ever used a racial slur to refer to Crew and said in an AP interview last week that the controversy has exposed him to unfair scorn in the black community... (Gee, guess we can be pretty confident the naughty word wasn't "Mick" or "Polack," eh?) Crew called the situation "a tragedy all the way around," but said Arza was right to leave..."I believe now we can get back to essentially mending and healing the community around these issues, and I can get back to work," Crew told reporters.

Bush also said resigning was the right thing. But he said he adamantly believed that the messages Arza left were out of character and lamented that a mistake would unfairly define his legacy as a politician.

"The Ralph Arza I knew is a person of person of honor, of intelligence, of passion and he was a partner in our education reform efforts and I think that people should remember that Ralph Arza, not the one that made a big mistake," Bush said.