Television cameras and newspaper photographers crowd the front row for a packed mid-September meeting of the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Board of Commissioners. But they aren't aiming their lenses at Frances Semler. Today, the controversy is over a proposed dog park in Waldo.
Outside, reporters interview supporters of the off-leash play space and opponents who don't want dogs overrunning the park. Inside, plastic fans labor to stir the air in a cramped conference room where every chair is taken and the walls are lined with anxious dog owners.
The biggest controversy surrounding the board isn't on today's agenda.
In June, Mayor Mark Funkhouser announced that he intended to root out "community divisiveness" with a new slate of commissioners for the board. But by appointing Northland resident Frances Semler, Funkhouser got more than a skilled gardener and well-regarded neighborhood president: Semler, a 73-year-old bookkeeper, is also a member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, an anti-illegal-immigration group that patrols the U.S. border, pickets construction sites and favors militaristic rhetoric to warn against an "invasion" of unlawful immigrants. Instead of inspiring community inclusiveness, Funkhouser's appointment alienated the Hispanic community and many allied organizations that call the Minutemen a vigilante group.
Three months later, Semler is still a hot topic among attendees at the September 18 meeting. An elderly woman in the back row elbows her companion and whispers, "That's Frances Semler," as if she's just spotted a celebrity.
The Midwest's most famous parks commissioner isn't much to watch, though.
Her gaze is steady, and she barely glances down when she jots notes on a small pad with a purple pen. After the dog-park crowd clears out, the board considers a request to name a stretch of the Paseo after a prominent African-American pastor, gets an update on a construction project that's falling short of minority-hiring guidelines, and hears a presentation on the Ronald McDonald House's expansion plans.
Semler is quick with a sympathetic nod or smile, but she says little. When she does chime in, she speaks quietly, shifts awkwardly and ends her comments with an uncomfortable laugh.
When a parks department employee asks if she and fellow commissioner Aggie Stackhaus will ride on a city float in the American Royal Parade, Semler grimaces.
Stackhaus feigns discomfort but quickly agrees — "Pencil me in," she tells the employee. Semler shifts her eyes around the room and lets the question hang unanswered.
When the cameras are gone, though, the inconspicuous commissioner is still center-stage.
Stackhaus, Semler and parks department director Mark McHenry linger behind a table at the front of the room. As Semler gathers her notebook and purse, Stackhaus excitedly informs McHenry that their celebrity commissioner has earned another accolade: an award from conservative radio personality Laura Ingraham. McHenry looks at Stackhaus blankly. Stackhaus explains that Ingraham is the Ann Coulter of talk radio, and Semler is heading to the Uptown Theater in a few hours to receive her "Power to the People" award.
"She's the poster girl for conservatism," Stackhaus says of Semler.
Semler bats away the comment, starts digging in her purse for her keys.
"Oh, I call her modest Millie," Stackhaus says, chuckling.
Semler's opponents call her racist.
Her supporters call her a champion for the rule of law.
For now, let's just call her Kansas City's most infamous gardener.
Growing up in De Soto, Kansas, Frances Caldwell and her two sisters, Marion and Billie, and her brother, James, helped her parents tend Caldwell Farms, a family operation that won county-fair ribbons for its watermelons. Local schoolchildren who toured the fields knew Semler's mother, Nina, as "the Pumpkin Lady."
Showing 1-25 of 32
I'm deeply concerned about the presumption of guilt by association. While it's possible that some Minutemen have gone beyond the law in their pursuit of illegal immigrants, that doesn't make anyone who is a member a criminal. It's a bit like saying a member of La Raza isn't fit for public office because a few of their membership might be racial supremecists (or at least use the rhetoric of supremacy), or that we shouldn't let a Wal-Mart manager on the parks board because their organization oppresses Mexican immigrants, regardless of that individual's employment policies. One individual can't be held responsible for every action taken by other individuals in their organization.
The key question is: is she meeting the needs of all citizens through her work on the Parks Board? If someone has *any* evidence that she is discriminatory in her votes on the board, I haven't seen it. And if she *was* being discriminatory in that role, I'm certain the public outrage from all Kansas Citians would be sufficient to demand her resignation. But until further evidence supporting the "Semler is a racist" accusation emerges, I think Funkhouser has taken the right stance: let's wait and see what she does before we rush to condemn her.
I'm deeply concerned about the presumption of guilt by association. While it's possible that some Minutemen have gone beyond the law in their pursuit of illegal immigrants, that doesn't make anyone who is a member a criminal. It's a bit like saying a member of La Raza isn't fit for public office because a few of their membership might be racial supremecists (or at least use the rhetoric of supremacy), or that we shouldn't let a Wal-Mart manager on the parks board because their organization oppresses Mexican immigrants, regardless of that individual's employment policies. One individual can't be held responsible for every action taken by other individuals in their organization.
The key question is: is she meeting the needs of all citizens through her work on the Parks Board? If someone has *any* evidence that she is discriminatory in her votes on the board, I haven't seen it. And if she *was* being discriminatory in that role, I'm certain the public outrage from all Kansas Citians would be sufficient to demand her resignation. But until further evidence supporting the "Semler is a racist" accusation emerges, I think Funkhouser has taken the right stance: let's wait and see what she does before we rush to condemn her.
I'm deeply concerned about the assumption of guilt by association. While it's possible that some Minutemen have gone beyond the law in their pursuit of illegal immigrants, that doesn't make anyone who is a member a criminal. It's a bit like saying a member of La Raza isn't fit for public office because a few of their membership might be racial supremecists (or at least use the rhetoric of supremacy), or that we shouldn't let a Wal-Mart manager on the parks board because their organization oppresses Mexican immigrants, regardless of that individual's employment policies. One individual can't be held responsible for every action taken by other individuals in their organization.
The key question is: is she meeting the needs of all citizens through her work on the Parks Board? If someone has *any* evidence that she is discriminatory in her votes on the board, I haven't seen it. And if she *was* being discriminatory in that role, I'm certain the public outrage from all Kansas Citians would be sufficient to demand her resignation. But until further evidence supporting the "Semler is a racist" accusation emerges, I think Funkhouser has taken the right stance: let's wait and see what she does before we rush to condemn her.
I'm deeply concerned about the assumption of guilt by association. While it's possible that some Minutemen have gone beyond the law in their pursuit of illegal immigrants, that doesn't make anyone who is a member a criminal. It's a bit like saying a member of La Raza isn't fit for public office because a few of their membership might be racial supremecists (or at least use the rhetoric of supremacy), or that we shouldn't let a Wal-Mart manager on the parks board because their organization oppresses Mexican immigrants, regardless of that individual's employment policies. One individual can't be held responsible for every action taken by other individuals in their organization.
The key question is: is she meeting the needs of all citizens through her work on the Parks Board? If someone has *any* evidence that she is discriminatory in her votes on the board, I haven't seen it. And if she *was* being discriminatory in that role, I'm certain the public outrage from all Kansas Citians would be sufficient to demand her resignation. But until further evidence supporting the "Semler is a racist" accusation emerges, I think Funkhouser has taken the right stance: let's wait and see what she does before we rush to condemn her.
I'm deeply concerned about the presumption of guilt by association. While it's possible that some Minutemen have gone beyond the law in their pursuit of illegal immigrants, that doesn't make anyone who is a member a criminal. It's a bit like saying a member of La Raza isn't fit for public office because a few of their membership might be racial supremecists (or at least use the rhetoric of supremacy), or that we shouldn't let a Wal-Mart manager on the parks board because their organization oppresses Mexican immigrants, regardless of that individual's employment policies. One individual can't be held responsible for every action taken by other individuals in their organization. The key question is: is she meeting the needs of all citizens through her work on the Parks Board? If someone has *any* evidence that she is discriminatory in her votes on the board, I haven't seen it. And if she *was* being discriminatory in that role, I'm certain the public outrage from all Kansas Citians would be sufficient to demand her resignation. But until further evidence supporting the "Semler is a racist" accusation emerges, I think Funkhouser has taken the right stance: let's wait and see what she does before we rush to condemn her.
I'm deeply concerned about the presumption of guilt by association. While it's possible that some Minutemen have gone beyond the law in their pursuit of illegal immigrants, that doesn't make anyone who is a member a criminal. It's a bit like saying a member of La Raza isn't fit for public office because a few of their membership might be racial supremecists (or at least use the rhetoric of supremacy), or that we shouldn't let a Wal-Mart manager on the parks board because their organization oppresses Mexican immigrants, regardless of that individual's employment policies. One individual can't be held responsible for every action taken by other individuals in their organization. The key question is: is she meeting the needs of all citizens through her work on the Parks Board? If someone has *any* evidence that she is discriminatory in her votes on the board, I haven't seen it. And if she *was* being discriminatory in that role, I'm certain the public outrage from all Kansas Citians would be sufficient to demand her resignation. But until further evidence supporting the "Semler is a racist" accusation emerges, I think Funkhouser has taken the right stance: let's wait and see what she does before we rush to condemn her.
I'm deeply concerned about the assumption of guilt by association. While it's possible that some Minutemen have gone beyond the law in their pursuit of illegal immigrants, that doesn't make anyone who is a member a criminal. It's a bit like saying a member of La Raza isn't fit for public office because a few of their membership might be racial supremecists (or at least use the rhetoric of supremacy), or that we shouldn't let a Wal-Mart manager on the parks board because their organization oppresses Mexican immigrants, regardless of that individual's employment policies. One individual can't be held responsible for every action taken by other individuals in their organization. The key question is: is she meeting the needs of all citizens through her work on the Parks Board? If someone has *any* evidence that she is discriminatory in her votes on the board, I haven't seen it. And if she *was* being discriminatory in that role, I'm certain the public outrage from all Kansas Citians would be sufficient to demand her resignation. But until further evidence supporting the "Semler is a racist" accusation emerges, I think Funkhouser has taken the right stance: let's wait and see what she does before we rush to condemn her.
I'm deeply concerned about the assumption of guilt by association. While it's possible that some Minutemen have gone beyond the law in their pursuit of illegal immigrants, that doesn't make anyone who is a member a criminal. It's a bit like saying a member of La Raza isn't fit for public office because a few of their membership might be racial supremecists (or at least use the rhetoric of supremacy), or that we shouldn't let a Wal-Mart manager on the parks board because their organization oppresses Mexican immigrants, regardless of that individual's employment policies. One individual can't be held responsible for every action taken by other individuals in their organization. The key question is: is she meeting the needs of all citizens through her work on the Parks Board? If someone has *any* evidence that she is discriminatory in her votes on the board, I haven't seen it. And if she *was* being discriminatory in that role, I'm certain the public outrage from all Kansas Citians would be sufficient to demand her resignation. But until further evidence supporting the "Semler is a racist" accusation emerges, I think Funkhouser has taken the right stance: let's wait and see what she does before we rush to condemn her.
At the end of the day illegal aliens are breaking the LAW....They are a drain on the system. They have an unfair advantage over those who immigrate legally.
As for the minutemen protesting being referred to as intimidation, its called free speech and right to assembly. The same non-right enjoyed by the thousands of illegals who have gathered to protest on american soil.
At the end of the day illegal aliens are breaking the LAW....They are a drain on the system. They have an unfair advantage over those who immigrate legally. As for the minutemen protesting being referred to as intimidation, its called free speech and right to assembly. The same non-right enjoyed by the thousands of illegals who have gathered to protest on american soil.
The Minuteman are just a group bullies that really have no impact on illegal immigration. Step back; put the illegal immigration issue aside. Should someone that is involved with a group that intimidates, threatens, harrasses PEOPLE be in public office? Forget what group they belong to for a minute.. should they be in public office?? Not by my standards and my standards are high. They not only go after illegals but they harrass people of legal status...they harrass people because of the way they look! Does everyone think that is okay? It's not. To me this is simple. Semler should step down, maybe that will give her more time to devote to her Minuteman ways. This is not about illegal immigration.
The Minuteman are just a group bullies that really have no impact on illegal immigration. Step back; put the illegal immigration issue aside. Should someone that is involved with a group that intimidates, threatens, harrasses PEOPLE be in public office? Forget what group they belong to for a minute.. should they be in public office?? Not by my standards and my standards are high. They not only go after illegals but they harrass people of legal status...they harrass people because of the way they look! Does everyone think that is okay? It's not. To me this is simple. Semler should step down, maybe that will give her more time to devote to her Minuteman ways. This is not about illegal immigration.
The Minuteman are just a group bullies that really have no impact on illegal immigration. Step back; put the illegal immigration issue aside. Should someone that is involved with a group that intimidates, threatens, harrasses PEOPLE be in public office? Forget what group they belong to for a minute.. should they be in public office?? Not by my standards and my standards are high. They not only go after illegals but they harrass people of legal status...they harrass people because of the way they look! Does everyone think that is okay? It's not. To me this is simple. Semler should step down, maybe that will give her more time to devote to her Minuteman ways. This is not about illegal immigration.
The Minuteman are just a group bullies that really have no impact on illegal immigration. Step back; put the illegal immigration issue aside. Should someone that is involved with a group that intimidates, threatens, harrasses PEOPLE be in public office? Forget what group they belong to for a minute.. should they be in public office?? Not by my standards and my standards are high. They not only go after illegals but they harrass people of legal status...they harrass people because of the way they look! Does everyone think that is okay? It's not. To me this is simple. Semler should step down, maybe that will give her more time to devote to her Minuteman ways. This is not about illegal immigration.
Good for Funkhauser. Leave her alone. She has the right to believe what she wants just like La Razza has the right to take their convention elsewhere. I say good riddance, they have the right to free speech but other people don't. See ya.
Good for Funkhauser. Leave her alone. She has the right to believe what she wants just like La Razza has the right to take their convention elsewhere. I say good riddance, they have the right to free speech but other people don't. See ya.
Frances Semler is a violent vigilante that needs to be locked up! Last December I was in Tempe, Arizona, I was just walking down the street minding my own business. I go around a corner, somebody hits me in my chest, knocks me down to the floor. I look up, it's Frances Semler. I say, "Frances Semler?", she says, "I'm sorry, I thought you were somebody else." Such violence! Until the Minutemen disavow their motto "Por la Minutmen todo, fuera de la Minutemen nada", (for the minutemen everything, outisde the minutemen nothing) they should be considered armed and stupid. When they come to town I'll make sure I put out my "No dogs or minutmen allowed" sign on my front lawn. You should have seen the guy at the screen printers shop, when he finally quit laughing he said the sign was on the house. He made one for himself.
Frances Semler is a violent vigilante that needs to be locked up! Last December I was in Tempe, Arizona, I was just walking down the street minding my own business. I go around a corner, somebody hits me in my chest, knocks me down to the floor. I look up, it's Frances Semler. I say, "Frances Semler?", she says, "I'm sorry, I thought you were somebody else." Such violence! Until the Minutemen disavow their motto "Por la Minutmen todo, fuera de la Minutemen nada", (for the minutemen everything, outisde the minutemen nothing) they should be considered armed and stupid. When they come to town I'll make sure I put out my "No dogs or minutmen allowed" sign on my front lawn. You should have seen the guy at the screen printers shop, when he finally quit laughing he said the sign was on the house. He made one for himself.
Why dont you people just leave her alone. Is it so wrong to be part of an organization that trys to protect your rights instead of giving them to people who dont respect our country enough to follow its laws. Get over it and you may be suprised to see what she can do for KC. She cant muck it up anymore than it already is.
Why dont you people just leave her alone. Is it so wrong to be part of an organization that trys to protect your rights instead of giving them to people who dont respect our country enough to follow its laws. Get over it and you may be suprised to see what she can do for KC. She cant muck it up anymore than it already is.
Ms. Semler seems to be just another citizen who deserves her right to to her opinion. I don't think she should resign. The federal government and all the polititions who support it should be taken to task for the boondoggle that illegal imigration has caused. With all the jobs that are being sent to Mexico, why is it that so many people are crossing the border to the US? I surmise that it is because these jobs are paying starvation wages there just as wages are being downgraded here in the US. We all have a stake in this matter of illelgal immigration. Medical care, social services, Meidicare, social security, crime, are all a part of the social deprivation that is here and is getting worse every day. And, of course, the FAT CATS get fatter every day on the backs of us all.
Ms. Semler seems to be just another citizen who deserves her right to to her opinion. I don't think she should resign. The federal government and all the polititions who support it should be taken to task for the boondoggle that illegal imigration has caused. With all the jobs that are being sent to Mexico, why is it that so many people are crossing the border to the US? I surmise that it is because these jobs are paying starvation wages there just as wages are being downgraded here in the US. We all have a stake in this matter of illelgal immigration. Medical care, social services, Meidicare, social security, crime, are all a part of the social deprivation that is here and is getting worse every day. And, of course, the FAT CATS get fatter every day on the backs of us all.
Ms. Semler seems to be just another citizen who deserves her right to to her opinion. I don't think she should resign. The federal government and all the polititions who support it should be taken to task for the boondoggle that illegal imigration has caused. With all the jobs that are being sent to Mexico, why is it that so many people are crossing the border to the US? I surmise that it is because these jobs are paying starvation wages there just as wages are being downgraded here in the US. We all have a stake in this matter of illelgal immigration. Medical care, social services, Meidicare, social security, crime, are all a part of the social deprivation that is here and is getting worse every day. And, of course, the FAT CATS get fatter every day on the backs of us all.
Ms. Semler seems to be just another citizen who deserves her right to to her opinion. I don't think she should resign. The federal government and all the polititions who support it should be taken to task for the boondoggle that illegal imigration has caused. With all the jobs that are being sent to Mexico, why is it that so many people are crossing the border to the US? I surmise that it is because these jobs are paying starvation wages there just as wages are being downgraded here in the US. We all have a stake in this matter of illelgal immigration. Medical care, social services, Meidicare, social security, crime, are all a part of the social deprivation that is here and is getting worse every day. And, of course, the FAT CATS get fatter every day on the backs of us all.
How to tell an illegal alien: Do you dress like a day laborer who can't communicate with the clothing store staff? Do you only at and shop at Spanish speaking places? Do you always drive at or below the speed limit because if a cop stops you you'll end up paying $400.00 just because you don't have a driver's license?
There are many ways to pick out the illegal alien in a crowd. Mostly, he's the one who looks like he knows that he doesn't belong here.
Frances SEmler is doing a good job for the Commision and her minuteman involvement has been a non-factor so far. The ones who really messed up with this ill-advised powerplay are the Latino organizations who have shown us that the only thing they've learned from oppressors in their countries is oppressing others.
like
dislike
