Council for America My Country

"To Empower to Practise Good Citizenship"

965 Clover Court, Blue Bell, PA 19422

T: (610) 277-0149

F: (610) 277-3992

E:camc@camcinc.org

Jerry Boucher Im Ja P. Choi Don Kim Il Hwan Kim Sang Joo Kim

Director for Systems Management Deputy Director for Community Relation Secretary (215) 542 - 1000 Director for Outreach Chairman

Tae Shik Kwon Jae Jin Ma Young K. Park Ae Sook Yoon

Director for Community Relations Treasurer Counselor Director for Ageing & Elder Care

October 29, 1999

To the Editor
The Reporter

"Republicans bashed at forum" (The Reporter, 10/27/99)

Dear Madam/Sir:

The referenced piece came to my attention, and I find it merits a rebuttal.

First of all, Jim Matthews, a Republican candidate for commissioner in the Montgomery County, failed to tell the debate's sponsor, CAMC, that he would not attend the debate. Therefore, his failure to fulfill his commitment to participate constitutes a grievous insult to the Korean American community.

Jim Matthews failed to acknowledge that each candidate was allocated exactly the same time. If he exercised the most elementary level of arithmetics he should have known better that the debate rule was fair to its fullest extent. A mathematical certainty under the rule is that other debaters could not possibly have more time. Therefore, his statement is false and cannot be true. It also reflects that his level of orientation with the debate rules is troglodytic at best. Naturally, it is impudent and ludicrous that he had tried, he said, to change the format which he failed even to know what it really was. Moreover, Matthews degenerated himself, got personal and made slanderous remarks against me.

Sadly, the words of Frank Bartle, Chairman of Montgomery County Republican Committee, are patently false.

To append, Matthews and I had an unscheduled meeting in the afternoon of October 27th, Wednesday, at Dol Go Chon Korean restaurant in Elkins Park. He was flanked by his wife, a friend of his of Korean origin, and an entourage of two other associates. Two members of CAMC were also present. And, there were three reporters covering the Korean American community. At this conference Matthews opened the session with the remarks that the whole thing was "embarrassing" and that they [the Republican leadership] were in the state of "paranoia" with "fear of entrapment". Then, he offered an unconditional "deep apology" in his own word not only to me and CAMC but also to the entire Korean American community for all the blunders and misdeeds what the Republican leadership has brought upon themselves and, as a consequence, wrongfully upon the Korean American community.

However, he failed to mention about what he had told the reporters, i.e., the instant report, in the afternoon of October 26th, a few hours before the scheduled debate at which he failed to show up and participate in. Matthews was disingenuous.

Sincerely, Sang Joo Kim / signed Chairman

C.: CAMC members, those who were related to the Debate, Jim Matthews, Frank Bartle