Politics of Destruction - English-Only Amendment

KUSA Denver ^ | 1021/2002 | KUSA 9news, Denver

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DENVER (AP) - The leading supporter of a group seeking to dismantle bilingual education is blaming opponents for a rash of vandalism and harassment.

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Opponents of English-Only Amendment in Colorado revert to Gestapo Tactics!

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http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_1489181,00.html

Bilingual feud turns fiery
Arsonists burn car of leader behind Amendment 31

By John J. Sanko, Rocky Mountain News - October 19, 2002

Rita Montero, a leader of the ballot initiative to scrap bilingual education in Colorado's public schools, said Friday someone torched her car while it was parked in back of her home.

Denver fire investigator Craig McCann confirmed the incident. "It did happen, it was arson," he said.

McCann declined to say how the car fire started, but said a garage door across an alley from Montero's car also was damaged.

Montero, a former Denver School Board member, said she believes the Thursday night arson may have been retaliation for her work promoting Amendment 31.

Montero also expressed concern about a Denver middle school student whose hand was burned in a Bunsen burner experiment shortly after she made a pro-31 campaign appearance.

A Denver Public Schools spokesman refuted the connection.

The measure on the Nov. 5 ballot would force most of the state's estimated 70,000 non-English-speaking students into regular classes after one year of intensive English language study.

Montero held a news conference on the west steps of the Capitol Friday to describe what she called a series of harassment, including:

• 3 a.m. hang-up phone calls;

• Theft of yard signs;

• Dumping of garbage in yards of pro-31 residents;

• And intimidation of teachers who support her amendment.

She called on opponents to stop it. She admitted, however, that she had no direct proof that anyone opposed to Amendment 31 was involved. But she argued there were too many incidents, including the destruction of her 1974 Volvo, to not see a connection.

"These all could be just a string of incidents, but they all just seemed to be too much for us," Montero said. "So we decided to call on our opponents, if they are a part of this, to stop it - to ask their people to stop it."

Opponents, including Manolo Gonzalez-Estay, state chairman for "English Plus, No On 31," said they deplored the vandalism.

"I'm glad that she and her family are OK," said Gonzalez-Estay, who attended Montero's news conference. "Politics aside, that's what's important. But this is shocking to hear.

"Our campaign certainly doesn't need to resort to these tactics. The people who are working on our campaign wouldn't do anything like this."

Similar comments came from Denver businessman Paul Sandoval, another opponent, and State Board of Education member Gully Stanford, a leader in the fight against Amendment 31.

"We don't condone stuff like that," Sandoval said. "It's unfortunate. But who knows who did it? We all agree that kind of thing shouldn't be happening."

"The English Plus campaign would never condone violence," insisted Stanford. "No one in this campaign would descend into the gutter to make a point. We're focused on the issues."

Montero said the car was parked by the back fence when it and a neighbor's garage door were set afire about 6 p.m. Thursday. The neighbor is not involved in the amendment campaign.

"Neighbors were screaming 'Your car is on fire, call 911!' " Montero said. "I ran to the back and the fire was racing up 9 feet in the air. There were a lot of neighbors in the alley."

Montero also questioned an incident involving a young girl at Baker Middle School whose hand allegedly was burned in class by a Bunsen burner. It occurred shortly after the sixth-grader was involved in a news conference with Montero.

The teacher said all students had put their hands over the burners and away from the flames to feel how molecules expand.

"If you were trying to explain how molecules expand, why not put your hand above the Bunsen burner as opposed to using the child's hand?" Montero said. "I can't say as a matter of fact I know that he had a deliberate intention and this is the result of her asking to be placed in English-speaking classes. But it did happen within a period of time after she was at a press conference."

Mark Stevens, spokesman for DPS, said the girl was in a science class where all the kids were asked to put their hands over flames to show how atoms react to heat. He said students were interviewed and police were called in to investigate.

"Nobody was hurt," Stevens said.

At the Capitol news conference, when she spotted Gonzales-Estay in the background, Montero told him "put the word out to your people to stop it. Stop the phone calls at night. Stop the threats. Stop pulling yard signs and leaving garbage in their place."

News reporters Holly Yettick and Hector Gutierrez contributed to this story. SankoJ@Rocky MountainNews.com or (303) 892-5404