If a former press secretary to Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer followed her own advice, she still might have a job.
Stringers' deputy press secretary Lee Landor has resigned after making Facebook comments that took a shot at President Obama and defended the practice of racial profiling, as well as the recent arrest of a Harvard's African-American scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr.
Landor, who had worked for Stringer since May, posted a series of comments on her Facebook page – and in one called President Obama “O-dumb-a.”
About the controversy surrounding Gate's disorderly conduct arrest – charges that were dropped – Landor wrote:
“If Mr. Big Shot Harvard would have kept his mouth shut, shown ID and not started yelling at a police officer, he never would have been arrested. So please, it’s time to get over this “It’s because I’m black” bulls---”.
The reaction was swift –and severe -- after word got out about Landor’s online comments, posted on Friday, July 24, and apparently while she was at work in Stringer’s office. Landor’s Facebook account has been deactivated in the past day, but images of the comments were recorded by CityHallNews.com.
“Ms. Landor’s comments were totally inappropriate and in direct contradiction to the views of the borough president and his office,” Dick Riley, Mr. Stringer’s communications director, said in a statement on Monday evening. “The borough president has accepted Ms. Landor’s resignation, effective immediately.”
Landor, a graduate of the State University of New York at New Paltz, had worked as a reporter for The Queens Tribune and as an editor for The Queens Chronicle before joining Stringer’s staff, The New York Times reported.
She has not responded to multiple requests for comment on the situation.
In one post, Landor wrote “O-dumb-a, the situation got ‘out of hand’ because Gates is a racist, not because the officer was DOING HIS JOB!”
Gates was arrested last week inside his home in Cambridge, Mass., on a disorderly conduct charge after a neighbor saw him trying to break into his own home. Gates and the officer allegedly exchanged angry words, leading to the arrest. The disorderly conduct charge was quickly dropped.
But the arrest prompted a national debate on race relations and police practices in this country. The arresting officer, Sgt. James Crowley, Gates and President Obama are due to sit down for a beer to discuss the situation at the White House on Thursday.
In Landor’s Facebook posts, she said “racial profiling does exist, but for good reason. Take a look at this country’s jails: who makes up the majority of inmates? Exactly.”
