Fresno City Councilmember Apologizes for "Dirty Bomb" Threat Against Liberals

August 22, 2003

Move over, Ann Coulter. The author of the bestseller "Treason" has to make way for Jerry Duncan of the Fresno, California, city council, when it comes to outrageous comments.

At a June10 council meeting, Duncan sent an e-mail to staffers: "If I had one dirty bomb . . . I could eliminate all the liberals in Fresno at once."

When his e-mail became public, it created a storm of controversy in Fresno.

On August 19 at a public meeting on the controversy, Duncan apologized. "I made an error in judgment in sending the e-mail," he said, according to the Fresno Bee. "I apologize for the attention this action has caused. I am not a person who promotes violence as a means of solving problems." He did, however, take a swipe at his critics, saying they have "exploited it for political purposes."

Duncan is not the only person in trouble for loose e-mails at that June 10 meeting. Council member Brian Calhoun's chief assistant Ann Kloose also used a violent reference in one of her e-mails concerning the members of the Human Relations Commission. "If these HRC folks bring down a crowd and get unruly, I'm calling [police] to send over some officers to 'Cap' these guys."

A coalition of fifteen area peace and justice groups has come together to request the resignation of Duncan and Kloose.

"We are deeply appalled by the violent hate language used by Councilmember Duncan as well as Councilmember Calhoun's staff," a statement of the group reads. "The comments made while in open session reflect poorly on their character and demonstrate their lack of commitment to fairly weigh the concerns of their constituents."

In addition to seeking their resignations, the group has asked "the District Attorney's office to treat this case as it would treat any case involving similar circumstances."

Nicholas DeGraff is the coordinator of the coalition. "If another public employee made such comments, they would be dismissed immediately, and the e-mails would be turned over to the DA's office to see if they warranted any further investigation," he says. "It's just incredible that a city councilmember could say such things, especially after September 11. And it's amazing that a staff member could talk about shooting people who is using the democratic process."

Duncan and Kloose did not return four phone calls to their offices.

The head of the Human Relations Commission, Debbie Reyes, said at the August 19 meeting that the e-mails "bring up the issue of intolerance, hate, and violence." She cited an additional e-mail from Kloose describing some council members as coming from "the dark side of the council." Reyes called that "racism in its quietest form," and wondered whether Mayor Alan Autry also used such a term to refer to African American or Latino members of the council. The mayor responded to this by calling for Reyes's resignation.

Reyes tells The Progressive that she won't resign. "No, not at all," she says. "There are gross issues going on here. And this is a diversion tactic to take the heat off of their actions. It's not going to work. The community is too outraged for that to happen."

This is not the first political controversy with the Human Relations Commission, which was formed in 1986 as a citizens' board to oppose discrimination, monitor hate crimes, and promote cultural diversity. Each council member gets to appoint two commissioners, and the mayor gets three. In March, Councilmember Duncan dismissed a longstanding commissioner for backing a resolution against the Iraq War.

Fresno State professor Sudarshan Kapoor had been on the commission for thirteen years when Duncan gave him the boot. Kapoor, a professor of social work and the founder of the Peace and Conflict Studies Center at Fresno State, had voted in favor of the commission's resolution to oppose Bush's war plans. The commission passed the resolution unanimously in March after the council refused to take a stand on it. The next day, Duncan sent Kapoor a letter of dismissal.

Reached about the current controversy surrounding Duncan and his "dirty bomb" e-mail, Professor Kapoor says, "It's just so outrageous. Something like this coming from an elected official who is supposed to be a role model is too much. It's very inappropriate and irresponsible and ludicrous."

Kapoor cites a "double standard" in the way law enforcement treats such comments. "If someone from another culture or color or background had made that comment, he would be in jail by now," Kapoor says. "If I had made that statement, I would be in jail. I'm pretty sure the FBI would have moved in right away if the comment had come from someone with my type of name. I'm Hindu, and if I were Muslim, that person would be in even more trouble."