A confrontation between the mayor and a Surfside commissioner sparks controversy. Some say the comment is racist, and others say she provoked it.
It all happened on Wednesday when the usual conflicts between Mayor Shlomo Danzinger and Commissioner Nelly Velásquez escalated. While he was discussing a proposal to extend the terms of elected officials she tried to express her disagreement by interrupting him with comments under her breath..
Although it is not heard, supposedly she again said something off the microphone and then he said: “Someone will know how to speak Spanish so that I can explain it to you”
Before those who have criticized him as a racist for that, the mayor said that he was human and that he was wrong, but that the inappropriate comment was directly out of frustration with that commissioner, and that it was not done with the idea of offending anyone.
She says that he tried to show at the meeting that she was not helping to get the project off the ground.
The mayor says that “it may be a language barrier, because we live in Miami where English is a second language,” and adds: “I apologize to anyone who was offended by that comment that was not made against a group or nationality or people. ”.
