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
Philadelphia Inquirer

"GOP candidates stay home after all" (Philadelphia Inquirer, 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 statement is false and cannot be true.

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. Therefore, his statement is false and cannot be true. It also reflects a troglodytic orientation in the rules governing the debate.

An invitation to Michael D. Marino, a Republican candidate for commissioner in the Montgomery County, had not been withdrawn. He failed to accept it. Therefore, his statement is false and cannot be true.

Matthews attributed his decision not to attend to "that Young and Damsker would get more podium time". A mathematical certainty under the rule is that they could not possibly have more time. Therefore, his statement is false and cannot be true.

Marino called the situation "ridiculous". This is one thing I agree to. Indeed it is ridiculous what the Republican leadership including Matthews and Marino has wrought upon themselves and how they've been behaving.

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 accompanied by his wife, an entourage of two other associates and a friend of his of Korean origin. 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 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.

Interestingly, he failed to mention about what he had told the reporters 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, Michael D. Marino

 

This page last updated 10/30/1999 jdb

 

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