Kansas lawmaker quits posts after remarks about blacks

[TexasTowelie]

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A white Kansas lawmaker who suggested at a public forum that blacks were predisposed to abusing drugs resigned from two legislative committee leadership jobs on Tuesday but did not give up his seat in the Legislature.

Republican Rep. Steve Alford, from the western Kansas town of Ulysses, faced calls on social media to leave office altogether from critics who saw his remarks as racist. And a black House member said Alford should resign from the Legislature.

Alford stepped down as chairman of the House Children and Seniors Committee and as vice chairman of a joint legislative task force on child welfare. He won't keep a seat on either panel but will retain other committee assignments.

"We came to a mutual understanding," House Speaker Ron Ryckman Jr., a Kansas City-area Republican, told reporters after meeting Tuesday with Alford. "His remarks were a disappointment and unfortunate."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Kansas-lawmaker-quits-posts-after-remarks-about-12484607.php

[Phoenix61]

1. What's unfortunate is that he's still in government nt

[Catherine Vincent]

2. Saw it this am on CNN

Unbelievable. And the other folks that were sitting there, didn't look shocked at all by his comments.