City Government

Judy, Judy, Judy, Don’t Say That!

On Monday Boise Mayoral candidate Judy Peavey-Derr joined the ranks of famous (fatal) political quotes that rival George Romney’s “Brainwashing” remark about Vietnam, Jimmy Carter’s “Lust in my heart,” and George H-W Bush’s, “Read my lips, no new taxes.”
Judy
Ms Peavey-Derr did a live interview with a group of readers at the Idaho Statesman and said, among other things, that South Boise is, “getting blighted by a lot of refugees and different dialects coming into the school.”

Whether it was just a poor choice of words, red meat for the right-wingers, or an attempt at compassion for teachers faced with huge learning challenges, it didn’t sell well with the social media crowd who have commented on the statement.

Here is a link to the STATESMAN piece.

Comments & Discussion

Comments are closed for this post.

  1. Grumpy ole Guy
    Oct 12, 2015, 11:43 pm

    I do not know the “correct definition” of what constitutes South Boise. I do know that my larger (but not immediate) neighborhood has several refugee families and that I feel richer for the experience. My neighborhood looks much more like the world, now. I get to see wearing apparel previously only seen in news magazines, I now find a greater array of grocery choices in the stores in which we shop. I see children of several colors playing together and that gives me hope for the future.
    If others consider this a blight, rather than an opportunity to be embraced then they probably need to look into themselves and their values. I wish my children had, had the opportunity to learn from their school-mates.

    Teachers are trained to teach, and schools have long adjusted services to fit any special needs. That is the way it works. It is not an issue for the political contest for Mayor.

  2. Maybe she isn’t ready to be “the decider.” Or to “be in charge here at [City Hall]” Perhaps she was “for it before she was against it.” Or maybe she will have “the most transparent administration in history.” At least we will all be able to keep our plan if we like it.

  3. As politically correct as we would all like to be, it is now a scientific fact that humans are hardwired to prefer those who look like a us, and be suspicious of those who are different.
    There is a valid question, though, as to why the refugees seem to mostly be placed in the Vista neighborhood. It probably has to do with the fact that this neighborhood is a cheap place to live. The neighborhood where I was raised is now almost completely dominated by Vietnamese people, and it is hard to even find a business sign written in English. If the current policy of placing most refugees in this neighborhood continues, that could be if the fate of the Vista neighborhood.

  4. Foothills Rider
    Oct 13, 2015, 8:53 am

    As a parent whose kid attends a school with a focused Bridge program (and not even in South Boise, Judy!), I am grateful that my child interacts with and befriends kids of different cultures/beliefs/religions. This was a foot-in-mouth comment that will haunt Peavey-Derr….lost my vote.

  5. Bieter begone
    Oct 13, 2015, 9:44 am

    Yes it sparked an outrage with all those social media commenters. You know, the usual leftist progressives whose incessant whine about everything just make your teeth hurt.

    Leave it to the statesman to try and gin up controversy for their pathetic “news” paper. We’re having an election, but one would never know it. Maybe the candidates need to field a football team, because 50% of the home page everyday is bronco football.

    Bieter wants to be mayor for life. He wants all our money. He wants to get into areas the city should not be involved in. He could care less about the actual citizens of the city.

    But let’s all laugh at Judy.

  6. Eagle Writer
    Oct 13, 2015, 9:44 am

    Judy, say it and say it loud. “Blighted” may not have been the best term, but she is spot on.

    I support legal immigration and some refugee taking, but we have our own homeless veterans and others that we should help first.

    Boise is becoming far too well known as a refugee-first city. This does not help our tourism or our economic development, and it will kill our downtown over time.

    I appreciate Judy having the courage to say what many will not.

  7. The apprentice should know that only Trump should speak like Trump.

    When voting, I always think “it’s better the devil you know” if the alternatives are weaklings. Bieter is wise to lay low.

    Perhaps the apprentice was just pointing out the massive increase in welfare recipients which have been very intentionally concentrated away from the North End and nearer St. Al’s (NIMBY). The refugees are easy money for the non-profits but the city has been careful where to park them.

    The refugees contribute to an increase in poverty but it will take a generation or two for them to represent an increase in crime. I sure hope Boise can find a way for them to join the positive sides of the American experience before then. If we don’t, crime follows poverty in America.

    The Yugoslav refugees of the Bill Clinton era have done well because they came from an established westernized nation. They had skills, education, and a culture which fit in well enough. However, the refugees of the past several years are mostly a bad match for American culture, and they will therefore carve out their own culture. And the existing established culture will not like it (see MSP & DTW). It will be slow going and expensive until they do pay their own way.

    She speaks some truth, but not all of the truth. If we are going to be politically incorrect we should also get it all out. Boise does appear poorer in many sectors as compared to 20 years ago. Blaming only refugees is scapegoating. The refugee population is only a fraction of the increase in uncultured welfare recipients “blighting” our city. Many are home grown or come from nearby states. Many have NRA stickers on an old pickup which their father knew how to fix, but they never learned. If they own a home, it needs $30K in repairs but they can hardly make the payments with three generations living in it. Residual is spent on beer, smokes, and diapers. So it is foolish to blame the refugees, they will build a great society atop the bones of our failed society. If we are to continue to exist, we need to harness the instinct and survival skills of the refugee which our culture has apparently lost?

    In Boise today, the best jobs in town were mid-level jobs 20 years ago. Boise is dying people, in much the same way the entire nation is dying. The free money from the feds will run dry people. Perhaps the loudest airplane ever built flying overhead at night will help the problem.

    If we are to lay blame, the blame resides with policy makers and apathetic low-information voters.

    Speaking of welfare spending: Does it bother anyone that the largest and most expensive wild-land fire fighting organization in the world (by a factor of 10x), is unable or unwilling to extinguish a small fire in gentle terrain which they can see from HQ? They seem to be waiting for the wind to create a monster fire before leaving the executive think-tank stage.

  8. She didn’t have much of a chance. Now she really doesn’t. But her entry into the race might kill the foothills tax increase slush fund.

  9. So JPD’s explanation today on KIVI takes a twist that somehow “blight from refugees” now turns into helping veterans and homeless. Whaaaaat?

    Sounds a lot like Eagle Writer (& Trump).

  10. Bieter begone; “Incessant whine about everything”……
    Now that’s funny! Aren’t we the pot calling the kettle whiney?

  11. Eagle Writer
    Oct 14, 2015, 7:16 pm

    Easterner, thank you. I hope my advocacy has an impact.

    To be clear, until American hungry are fed, American homeless are housed, and American veterans are cared for, not one damned dime for illegal immigrants, and very limited support for refugees. I will vote for and against any candidate for any office on those standards.

    But regardless, if you want to see downtown Boise deteriorate and go dark, continue on the past and current practice.

  12. Who knows what she meant but she has a point. First, her husband worked for Mountain States Group, now called Jannus.

    HELLO. They are the ones using grant money to relocate refugees here. I think JPD would have a lot more inside info about the process than any of you. Maybe not.

    It’s my understanding the relocation money only lasts 6 months. Great. The officers of Jannus have made a nice tidy salary and last year’s refugees are thrown to the wolves.

    Is it any wonder blight is happening. The SJW’s are uneducated and disingenuous when they play the racist or bigot card so quickly.

    Any penniless people regardless of race or ethnic origin, when thrown to the wolves are likely to enter into poverty.

  13. boisecynic says, “The SJW’s are uneducated and disingenuous when they play the racist or bigot card so quickly.”

    What?
    SJW- Social Justice Warrior – are being uneducated and disingenuous by pointing out racists and bigots?
    SJW has nothing to do with it.

    BIGOT: A person who is intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially, one who regards the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with intolerance.
    RACIST: Discrimination or prejudice based on race.

    Well she didn’t say, “the blight of South Boise is due to the poor, white-trash people living there who don’t care about and can’t afford to maintain their homes, property and neighborhood.”
    She didn’t mention the WHITE meth- head criminals living there.
    She didn’t say anything about the low-income, white, senior citizens who complain about property taxes increasing (to pay for services and facilities).

    She put the blame on the refugees.
    “getting blighted BY the refugees”

    How else can that be explained other than a bias against a group of people?

    I bet one can find opinion pieces in historical Boise newspapers back in the 30’s of people saying the same thing about the Basque living on Grove Street… “the city shouldn’t be tolerating those Basco halfway houses, boarding all those smelling sheepherders”- signed Mildred Peavey.
    Even a sheepherder can be a mayor of Boise!

  14. Thanks a lot Easterner for totally ignoring my point and doing the very thing that SJWs always do. Appeal to Emotion. Look it up, it’s a classic logical fallacy.

    Just because she left out cranksters and gearheads and goat ropers does not mean she’s not above giving them a tongue lashing too. Have you asked her how she feels about those groups? Did she answer— “Well, they’re white so it’s ok.” Did she?

    You utterly and completely ignored my point that we have refugees-for-profit businesses operating in this town. I want to know how much the CEO is making, and how much effort the officers of Jannus expend after the refugee’s 6 month relocation funding has expired. I want to know if the refugees are being located in their neighborhoods or miles away.

    Again, a significant percentage of penniless or near penniless transplants, regardless of race or ethnicity, who are thrown to the wolves are going to end up in the poverty trap without long term assistance.

    So try again, and this time try to directly address the questions I posed. Let me help you….all you have to do is fill in the blanks.

    The CEO of Jannus makes $_______ a year.

    Refugees are being located ________ distance from the homes of officers of Jannus.

    Refugees who have trouble assimilating are being assisted long term by officers of Jannus by the following methods ___________.

  15. Cynic,
    AS a public charity their information is available online as well as through direct request. Maybe you could take a field trip to their office.

    Related to refugees, the refugee program and related support program is only 1 part of Jannus’ programs.
    So to measure the bosses’earnings, it would not be solely based on the refugee program..

    But to fill the blank – their Exec Direct (not CEO) receives about 125,000/yr for running a huge organization. — you might compare that to the Humane Society director’s salary.
    They have 10 board members (including the President) that are strictly VOLUNTEER.

    Your use of “CEO”…where does that apply? Is that the president of the board? Then your answer is Zero $.

    Jan Reeves runs the refugee program and gets paid about 129K. She probably knows a lot more about being nice than you and me both, so she is earning it, I suppose.

    #2. Their annual report lists the names of those individuals so I suppose you can google map them in comparison to where you think refugees live. Maybe JPD will help you with that project.

    As for #3. here is some info about the national refugee relocation program… my parents are coming home soon, so I gotta jet-

    but I bet if you research the program and request the info from Jannus you will be able to answer your questions. Request their annual report/tax return and then Google “Wilson Fish Agreement”.

    https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/orr/wilson_fish_guidelines_fy2015_16.pdf

  16. Eastie,

    Please tell us of the campaign contributions… amounts and recipients, from this refugee servicing business AND it’s officers.

    It’s a business. Non-profit, with a gigantic cash flow. Please show us where all the money goes.

    The concern is it’s a business which may not be working toward the best interest of the community.

  17. “They just want to fit in and become Americans”… Until they have a majority voting bloc like Minneapolis and Detroit.

    Get fitted for your burka ladies! Your gonna need one if you keep voting for the idiots who promote this policy.

    http://video.foxnews.com/v/4587483417001/muslim-truckers-refuse-to-deliver-beer-win-240k-lawsuit/?intcmp=hpvid1#sp=show-clips

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