New York AG who irked govt here projected to win elections
New York Attorney General Letitia James who drew the ire of the PPP/C government over recent statements is the projected winner of the contest for her post in Tuesday’s US mid-term elections.
With 87% of the votes in, she had a 54% to 45.9% lead over her Republican challenger Michael Henry.
James on October 30 told a Guyanese diaspora forum in New York that she was concerned about reports of racism and discrimination in Guyana and will draw this to the attention of fellow attorneysgeneral and the Biden administration so that the matters could be addressed.
Saying that she was perturbed by the allegations made during a town hallstyled meeting, the Attorney
General said she is joining her Democratic colleague, United States Congressman Hakeem Jeffries who earlier this year criticised the PPP/C government about racism and marginalisation of Afro-Guyanese.
The PPP/C government has accused its detractors of not making credible complaints or providing specifics.
James, who was among a number of officials at the meeting organized by the Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID), Guyanese Organizations Against Racism (GOAR) and twenty-one other Guyanese Diaspora Organizations in the New York Tristate area, spoke to the packed venue in an almost eight-minute address.
She spoke after hearing from retired Assistant Commissioner of Police Paul Slowe, APNU+AFC Parliamentarian Ganesh Mahipaul and accountant Nigel Hinds, who in recent times have levelled allegations of racism and discrimination against the
government.
“We believe that discrimination should be called out, we believe that racism should be called out. We try to call out class struggles as well. And so all that I have to say is the following; is that I will again along with my Democratic Attorney Generals across the country will be calling upon the Department of Justice as well as the Biden administration to look into the allegations that have been put forward this evening,” she told the audience.
“There are, we are obviously concerned about any destabilising force in Guyana and clearly all of the allegations that have been made this evening suggests that there are problems and that they need to be looked at, they need to be examined and that we cannot ignore it. We can’t put blinders on when people are struggling,” she added.
She further said that people of “African ancestry should not be treated like second class and third class citizens, not this country and not in any other country”.
James’ remarks have drawn condemnation from government officials here and saw PPP/C supporters in New York mounting a campaign against her.