PEEKSKILL – A mailer on behalf of the Republican Mike Lawler congressional campaign has three black community leaders outraged. The mailer depicts only photos of black men as it discusses crime.
Peekskill City Mayor Vivian McKenzie, Mid-Hudson Regional NAACP Director Wilbur Aldridge, and Rockland County Legislator Toney Earl reacted to the mailer sent by the Congressional Leadership Fund, which they charge “perpetuates the ugly, racist stereotype that black Americans are criminals.”
The three community leaders issued a joint statement: “Voters all across the Hudson Valley received a disgusting, racist mailer promoting the campaign of Assemblyman Mike Lawler. The Hudson Valley is full of diverse communities. We deserve leaders who will fight for a more tolerant, inclusive society where no one is judged by the color of their skin. Lawler must immediately condemn this mailer and stop any entity from using racism in his campaign for Congress.”
Lawler is challenging Democratic incumbent Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney in next month’s election.
Neither the Lawler campaign nor the Congressional Leadership Fund responding to a request for comment about the community leaders’ response on Friday late afternoon.
