Firefighters recall racial comments

June Casagrande

Councilman Dick Nichols made racially charged comments to

representatives of the Newport Beach Firefighters Assn. during last

year’s City Council campaign, contributing to the group’s decision

not to support Nichols’ candidacy, association President Rich Thomas

wrote last week to Mayor Steve Bromberg in a letter calling for

Nichols’ resignation.

“During Mr. Nichols’ campaign for City Council, he made statements

to members of the Newport Beach Firefighters Assn. that reflect the

broad record regarding his views on race. Those views are one of the

factors that went into our decision not to support his candidacy,”

Thomas wrote.

He did not offer specific statements made by Nichols.

Thomas submitted the letter to the council on behalf of the

association as the council prepares to discuss Nichols’ race-related

comments at their meeting tonight. Nichols is expected to attend

tonight’s meeting, in which colleagues will consider stripping

Nichols of his committee appointments and rebuke him for comments

about Mexicans.

“My first priority will be to give him a chance to speak,”

Bromberg said. “Nichols deserves the opportunity to be heard, and I

want to give him every opportunity to do that.”

All of the other six councilmen, including Bromberg, have asked

Nichols to step down for making several public comments about

Mexicans.

“I get a lot of e-mails from people who have the impression that

this is about one untoward comment,” Bromberg said. “A lot of people

don’t know that he has made a number of other comments in the past

that are in the staff report we’ll be looking at in our meeting.”

Documents prepared by City Atty. Bob Burnham for tonight’s meeting

list four instances in which Nichols is known to have made comments

about Mexicans, including his making allegations that Mexicans get

into car accidents to get money out of white people.

Nichols, who has not returned phone calls or e-mails from the

Daily Pilot, told City Manager Homer Bludau that he plans to attend

tonight’s council meeting.

It will be the first time he has been on the dais since coming

under fire for making racially charged comments about Mexicans.

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport. She

may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

[email protected].