Minutemen Flap Forces Groups to Rethink KC

Kansas City, Mo., stands to lose two major national conventions — and millions of dollars in economic impact — because the groups that hold them are concerned about an appointment the mayor made to a city board.

The Natl. Council of La Raza and the Natl. Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People both are bothered by Mayor Mark Funkhouser appointing Frances Semler to the city's park board.

The issue with Semler's appointment, according to both groups, is her involvement in the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps, whose mission states the organization wants U.S. boundaries secured against "the unlawful and unauthorized entry of all individuals, contraband and foreign military." The group has set up patrols along the United States-Mexico border to prevent undocumented immigrants from entering the U.S.

Joe Miller, director of communications in the mayor's office, said of Selmer's membership in the Minutemen, "We weren't made aware of it until the media called the day the appointment was made." The mayor appointed Selmer June 10.

La Raza's deliberations about withdrawing from Kansas City stem from "a concern raised to us by the local Hispanic community," said Lisa Navarrete, spokeswoman for the group.

The NCLR Annual Conference and Latino Expo USA is scheduled for the city in 2009, and the Kansas City Convention & Visitor's Assn. estimated it would have a $4 million economic impact and use 5,000 hotel room nights.

Navarrete said that La Raza's concern wasn't that the Minutemen protest illegal immigration, but that the group has "well-documented ties to white supremacy."

"Our issue is that she's an active member," Navarrete added of Semler.

The NAACP, which last month announced Kansas City was the unofficial choice for its 2010 Annual Convention, also is reconsidering the destination, but won't make a final decision until the national board meeting Oct. 19–20. The NAACP national convention has an estimated $9 million economic impact with 12,235 hotel room nights.

"The Minutemen organization has a disturbing reputation for threatening and working to intimidate members of the Latino community," said Roslyn M. Brock, vice chair of the NAACP national board of directors and chair of the NAACP convention planning committee, in a statement. But the concerns haven't caused either group to officially pull its event from the city and find a new location.

"We're in discussions with the mayor," Navarrete said of La Raza. "We would like a favorable resolution."

La Raza's convention rotates each year and chose Kansas City because of a recently completed expansion of the Kansas City Convention & Entertainment Center and a large, well-established Hispanic community. The last time the convention was in Kansas City was 1989.

"We support Janet Murguia, president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza, in (her) negotiations with the mayor and will be following the outcome of those discussions very closely as we plan our 2010 national convention," Brock said.

Rick Hughes, president and CEO of the KCCVA, said he thought the situation demonstrated a larger national issue.

"We also recognize that there are some fairly significant lightning rod issues out there," he added.

Still, Hughes is optimistic about the decisions to come this month, and the convention association is in touch with the groups.

"We think ultimately it's going to get itself worked out," he said.

From the mayor's perspective, Miller added, it probably would have made a difference in Selmer's appointment if her membership in the Minutemen had been known. The mayor appointed her to the parks board because she's a neighborhood leader and "expressed a desire to improve the parks in the poorer neighborhoods," Miller added.

"We very much want La Raza and the NAACP convention to come to Kansas City, and the mayor's working very hard to make that happen, as is city staff," he said.