Racial remark stirs criticism

Mayor Dennis Hession on Monday called for a public apology from the chairman of the city’s park board for a racially insensitive comment.

“Members of our community were offended by these remarks, and I want to assure them – and all of our citizens – that the city of Spokane is equally troubled by them,” Hession was quoted as saying in a press release.

Hession said that the park board chairman, Frank Knott, told him that he will submit a public apology as a letter to the editor for the comment reported in The Spokesman-Review.

While speaking to a reporter Friday and responding to concerns about a lack of diversity on the park board, Knott named some past members of the board who are not white.

“What was that colored guy’s name from the east side?” he asked when trying to remember former park board member Carl Boston.

Some City Council members have expressed concerns that the park board is dominated by retired men with higher incomes. Two of the 10 appointed members are women.

At Monday night’s council meeting, Councilman Al French, who is running for mayor against Hession, called on Knott to resign.

French said he also took offense to Knott’s comments in the newspaper that it might be difficult for many North Side residents to serve on the board because they would have to give up income to volunteer.

“Mr. Knott makes the argument for why this board, more than any other board, needs to be more balanced in its composition,” French said.

Councilman Bob Apple, who represents the council on the park board, said the comments are out of character for Knott. He noted that the appointed park board members are volunteers.

“If it occurred somehow, I’m sure it was not intentional,” Apple said.

“They don’t deserve this kind of abuse,” he said. “They’re not politicians. They’re not playing these kinds of political games.”

Knott, in a voice mail message left with the newspaper Monday, said he “apparently made” the comment but was disappointed it appeared in the newspaper. He called Boston “a fine man.”

V. Anne Smith, president of the Spokane Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said Monday that while the term is part of her organization’s name, it has long been unacceptable for use when referencing an individual.

“If he had somebody on the board that was African American, he wouldn’t use this term,” Smith said. “It has been many years since Mr. Boston was on the board.”