Rep. Ray Garofalo
Chalmette Representative Ray Garofalo has been formally removed as Chairman of the House Education Committee following a controversy stretching back to last month involving his comments about slavery.
LaPolitics.com Publisher Jeremy Alford said this wasn’t an easy decision for House Speaker Clay Schexnayder who was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
“You have the entire membership of the black caucus plus other lawmakers calling for Ray Garofalo’s removal and you had a handful of hard-right Republicans in the chamber saying that he shouldn’t be removed,” Alford said.
Garofalo’s comments late last month in committee calling for the teaching of “the good, the bad, the ugly” of slavery during a tense debate about education policy resulted in calls from the Legislative Black Caucus for Garofalo to be removed as chairman. Garofalo says his words have been taken “out of context” and he has nothing to apologize for.
Alford said Garofalo’s removal could have repercussions in the final few weeks of the session.
“A lot of this term so far has been defined by the racial tension that still deep in the house. It’s just difficult to know what this is going to do to negotiations,” Alford said.
Alford said this racial tension has been brewing since last year when police reform proposals brought in the wake of the George Floyd murder were rejected. That tension continued this year.
“You have some other issues like this critical race theory proposal that has kinda fanned this flame. I think that there have been issues like this in recent history but a little bit different this term,” Alford said.
Covington Representative Mark Wright was named House Education Chairman for the rest of the session.
Comments