When Blong Yang worked as an investigator for the Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights, he asked his bosses for a leave of absence to run for public office. They refused.
Yang quit his job to run for office. He lost that race but ran for the City Council's north Minneapolis seat and won. Now he's chair of the committee that oversees the department he left, and his former boss, Velma Korbel, is catching darts for an angry speech she made to her staff. Funny sometimes how things turn out.
It gets worse. Last month Korbel criticized Yang during a discussion organized by the African-American caucus of the Minnesota DFL Party. "I don't think he knows he's supposed to represent the community," she reportedly said of Yang.
Yang took that to mean that he can't possibly represent a largely black constituency because he's Hmong.
"She's saying race matters in this situation," said Yang. "To me, that's more dangerous" than what she said to her employees. "She's the person who is supposed to protect people's civil rights, and she's saying things like that? There is a double standard."
On Wednesday, the Asian-American Organizing Project (AAOP) called for Korbel's resignation over her remarks about Yang.
Korbel responded by letter, "I deeply regret any offense felt by members of the community when my comments were taken out of context."
In an interview Friday, Korbel called Yang's interpretation of her remarks to DFLers "absurd" and said she wants to work with the group and all City Council members.
