Austin, TX - Governor Candidate Kinky Friedman Criticized for Racism Comments

Austin, TX - A Houston-area lawmaker said that she is "vehemently insulted" by independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman's derogatory comments about Hurricane Katrina evacuees.

Friedman attributed a spike in Houston's crime rate to the "crackheads and thugs" who evacuated New Orleans.
"He has demonstrated a total lack of human sensitivity," said state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston. "The people of Katrina have lost everything and are suffering not only from the loss of loved ones, but the trauma of the event itself. What has precipitated from this tragedy is behavior that results from a disastrous event."

Friedman campaign spokeswoman said. "The fact of the matter is Houston has seen a tremendous surge in crime ... we're talking about homicide jumping 20 percent and many of those are being linked to Katrina evacuees," Stromberg said. "Was he politically incorrect? Sure. But Kinky's not afraid of the truth. He will be honest at the risk of losing some popularity."

Friedman earlier this week also said that we would not pander to different ethnic groups while campaigning for governor. "I don't eat tamales in the barrio, I don't eat fried chicken in the ghetto, I don't eat bagels with the Jews for breakfast," said Friedman, who is Jewish. "That to me is true racism."