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WORLD AND LOCAL NEWS
Black Senator from Maryland Gets Ousted
By R. Francis Blakeney
Editor-In-Chief
In a historic vote, the
Maryland Senate voted 38 to
10 to expel Maryland Senator
Larry Young (D-Baltimore) on
ethics charges. Young, a black
democrat from one of
Baltimore's poorest district, is
the first senator to be expelled
in the 221 year history of the
senate. •
Young was expelled after
a month long investigation by
the legislature's ethics
committee. The committee
alleges that he used his
prestige and influence as
senator to obtain gifts
including a blue Lincoln Town
Car from Willie Ruyon,
president of Merit Behavorial
Care and a consulting contract
from Coppin State University.
The committee also accused
Young of failing to disclose
contractual relationship with a
state agency and conflicts of
interest relating to his contract
with Coppin State. They
concluded the 57,000 thousand
dollars he receieved was
"beyond normal and fair
consideration" for services he
provided to Merit Behavorial
Care Corporation through his
consulting company, the LY
Group.
Senator Michael J. Collins
(D-Baltimore County), the co-
chairman of the ethics panel,
was the only senator to speak.
Collins said "The magnitude
of the violations of the public
trust were so severe [that] to
restore the confidence of the
citizens of Maryland in their
government, in general, and
the General Assembly.. . This
extreme recommendation was
necessary."
Coming to his own
defense, Young denies the
allegations against him while
admitting to "technical
violations" of ethics laws
which he argues is common
among lawmakers. He also
noted that a white senator
would not have had judge
ment passed against him.
Courtesy The Washington Post
Senator Larry Young (D-
Baltimore) becomes the first
senator be expelled from the
Maryland Senate.
While two white senators
voted against expulsion, most
senators voted along racial
lines. Senate President
Thomas V. "Mike" Miller (D-
Prince Georges) had hoped to
avoid the issue of racism with
several key votes from
influential black members of
the senate. At the last minutes,
senior member and Majority
Leader Clarence W. Blount (D-
Baltimore) changed his mind
carring all the black votes with
him.
While most black senators
felt that Young deserved to be
punished, they felt the
expulsion was too severe. "I
think the idea of expulsion is
too severe. We are now
moving into an area that's
uncharted," said Senator
Decatur W. Trotter (D-Prince
Georges). Senator Brian E.
Frosh (DMontgomery) who is
white and voted against
expulsion unsuccessfully
urged his colleagues to delay
a vote. He said, "I think we
owe it to the citizen's of
Maryland to be as fully
informed as we can be."
Voting Yea:
How Senators Voted
President Thomas V. “Mike” Miller, Jr. (D-Prince George's)
John C. Astle (D-Anne Arundel)
Vernon Boozer (R-Baltimore County)
Richard Colburn (R-Dorchester)
David R. Craig (R-Hartford)
Arthur Dorman (D-Prince George's)
Timothy R. Ferguson (R-Carroll)
Donald C. Fry (D-Hartford)
John J. Hafer (R-Allegany)
Barbara Hoffman (D-Baltimore)
Paula C. Hollinger (D-Baltimore County)
Edward J. Kasemeyer (D-Howard)
Edward Middlebrooks (R-Anne Arundel)
Donald F. Munson (R-Washington)
Paul G. Pinksy (D-Prince George's)
Ida G. Ruben (D-Montgomery)
Walter M. Baker (D-Cecil)
Thomas L. Bromwell (D-Baltimore)
Michael J. Collins (D-Baltimore County)
George W. Della, Jr. (R-Frederick)
Roy P. Dyson (D-St. Marys)
Jennie M. Forehand (D-Montgomery)
Leo E. Green (D-Prince George's)
Larry E. Haines (R-Carroll)
Patrick J. Hogan (R-Montgomery)
Phillip C.Jimeno (D-Anne Arundel)
Martin G. Madden (R-Howard)
Thomas McLain Middleton (D-Charles)
Robert R. Neal (R-Anne Arundel)
Jean W. Roesser (R-Montgomery)
Perry Sfikas (D-Baltimore)
Norman R. Stone, Jr. (D-Baltimore)
J. Lowell Stoltzfus (R-Somerset)
Christopher Van Hollen, Jr. (D-Montgomery)
Voting Nay:
Clarence W. Blount (D-Baltimore) Joan Carter Conway (D-Baltimore)
Ulysses Curtis (D-Prince Georges) Brian E. Frosh (D-Montgomery)
Ralph M. Hughes(D-Baltimore) Ralph M. Hughes (D-Baltimore)
Gloria G. Lawlah (D-Prince George's) Christopher J. McCabe (R-Howard)
Nathaniel J. McFadden (D-Baltimore) Decatur W. Trotter (D-Prince George's)
Larry Young (D-Baltimore)
Not Voting:
Delores Kelley (D-Baltimore)
University President Calls His Boss an‘Qreo’
By Ron Ward
Associated Press Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP)
— It was Christmas and John
Lombardi,president of the
University of Florida was
holding a Christmas party for
his staff. He began discussing
the candidates in the running
to become the next chancellor,
his boss.
Several people at the Dec.
16 party said Lombardi was
listing those he expected to
apply for chancellor. During
the conversation, John
Lombardi called Adam
Herbert, then president of the
University of North Florida in
Jacksonville, an "Oreo." When
one of the dinner companions
pressed him about the word,
Lombardi said it meant
Herbert is “black on the
outside and white on the
inside."
Colleagues are quick to
point out the racial tone was
uncharacteristic of Lombardi,
but it could cost him his job as
leader of the state's flagship
university. Citing his past
efforts at improving race
relations, black leaders and
education officials haven't
denounced him for the
remark. “It was a horrible
comment to make. Having
said that, I have never heard
anything like that coming
from President Lombardi,"
said state Education
Commissioner Frank Brogan,
who sits on the board. "I want
to get all the facts on this issue
before I come down to an
opinion to what ought to
occur."
Gov. Lawton Chiles called
the remark "unfortunate. I'm
delighted he has made an
apology and we'll just see
what happens," he said. .
Lombardi, a specialist in
Latin American history, has
been a favorite of his school's
supporters. The university
helped establish a new health
care center in Gainesville to
serve minorities and Lombardi
was the first white person to
address black youths at a
Martin Luther King
Commission banquet last year.
Reaction to Lombardi's
remark was mixed among
blacks. "This is a man who has
taken tremendous strides to
bridge the gap between the
university and the African-
American community," said
black state Rep. Cynthia
Chestnut.
At his school, Claude
Poux, the 20-year-old
president of North Star
Leadership Council, a black
leadership group, said
Lombardi has "tarnished his
image. He needs to apologize
to the public." Natalie
Morrison, 22, was more
forgiving. "Everybody makes
mistakes," she said. "He is a
very good president."
Lombardi, president of the
school since 1990, apologized
to Herbert in a letter and said
it was a poor choice of words.
“One of the things Adam
Herbert has done
extraordinarily well over the
years is deal with race and
ethnicity in a very complex
society," he said. "I just picked
the wrong shorthand."
Herbert, 54, begins work
Monday as the first black
chancellor of Florida's 10
public universities and their
220,000 students. He said
Wednesday he wouldn't
comment on Lombardi's
comment "until I have had an
opportunity to sit down and
have a discussion with John."
The two men were
expected to meet when the 14-
member Board of Regents,
which oversees the schools,
meets in Fort Myers. The
regents hire and fire university
presidents.
“One of the things Adam Herbert has done
extraordinarily well over the years is deal with race
and ethnicity in a very complex society... I just picked
the wrong shorthand.”
John Lombardi, President
University of Florida at Gainesville
Stuart Tanneh i 1 VJacksonville Times Union
After apologizing in a personal conference to his boos,
University of Florida President John Lombardi (left) and
Chancellor Adam Herbert speak with reporters.
