Farmers Branch mayor: Vote against the ordinance

Better late than never, I guess.

The mayor of the first city in Texas to forbid landlords from renting apartments to illegal immigrants is urging voters to strike down the ordinance.

It's the first time Mayor Bob Phelps has taken a public position against the measure, which was adopted in November and resulted in lawsuits and outcry from civil rights groups, residents, property owners and businesses.

[Today], voters in this Dallas suburb will become the first in the country to decide whether to repeal or approve a city ordinance that would ban apartment rentals to most illegal immigrants.

Phelps, former Mayor David Blair and former City Manager Richard Escalante all signed a letter Tuesday opposing the measure.

"The City should not waste millions of taxpayer's dollars to defend an ineffective ordinance that is likely never to become law," said the letter, which was an advertisement mailed by a group opposing the ordinance.

Documents reviewed by The Associated Press show that the city paid almost $262,000 in immigration-related legal fees, mostly with taxpayer money, through March. And the costs are expected to climb. Council members increased the city's legal budget last month to $444,000.

I'm more than glad to have Mayor Phelps on board with this - his colleague, former Mayor Blair was ahead of him on the issue - but I have to ask: Where was he while this piece of ignorance was being debated in his City Council? Call me crazy here, but I'm thinking he might have affected the debate a bit more efficiently back then.

Again, better late than never. But geez, what took him so long? Link via Dig Deeper Texas.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on May 12, 2007 to Election 2007