California Mayor James Stewart denies that he’s a racist and blamed his controversial email for a variety reasons.
The city Temecula, California has found itself without an ficial mayor after a scandal broke out in the California city. According to reports, an email surfaced that showed former Temecula City Mayor James Stewart writing that he didn’t “believe there’s ever been a good person color killed by a police ficer.” In these emotionally-heightened times, the controversy was met with backlash from the public who called for his resignation. He complied and stepped down from his position in the Southern Californian city, but not before he stated that it was all a misunderstanding due to a “typo.”
According to a report by ABC News, James Stewart issued a formal apology for the email, but also said that he’s dyslexic and never meant to type the word “good.” Stewart also said that he used voice-to-text in order to pen the email, and he didn’t look to see if there were any mistakes.
“Unfortunately I did not take the time to proread what was recorded. I absolutely did not say that,” Stewart told the Riverside Press-Enterprise. He claimed that he was responding to an email concerning sensitivity training within the police force. “What I said is I don’t believe there has ever been a person color murdered by police, on context to Temecula or Riverside County. I absolutely did not say ‘good.’ I have no idea how that popped up.”
“You have every right to be hurt and fended. My typos and f-the-cuff response to an email on a serious topic added pain at a time where our community, and our country, is suffering,” Stewart later penned in a statement. “I may not be the best writer and I sometimes misspeak, but I am not racist.” He added in his email that racism isn’t tolerated in Temecula and that he has many Black friends who live in the city because it’s a safe town.