VFW to Toledo Mayor: Support the Troops and Eliminate the Personal Politics
Thursday, February 14, 2008 at 03:39 PM
by washington
KANSAS CITY, Feb. 14, 2008--The VFW is disappointed with the mayor of Toledo, Ohio, for his recent insensitivities directed toward a Michigan-based U.S. Marine Corps unit.Last week, Mayor Carty Finkbeiner refused to allow a 200-member Marine unit from Michigan to conduct urban-warfare training in the city. The city council has since apologized to the unit, but the mayor is remaining firm in his refusal to allow military training in the city saying that the Marine's guerilla-style training would frighten city residents.
This is the second incident recently of local political interference with military operations; the previous was the Berkeley (California) City Council voting to boot a Marine Recruiting Station out of town. According to media outlets, residents in both cities are furious with their elected officials for promoting personal beliefs versus the will of the city residents.
"The VFW urges elected officials to be more mindful of allowing personal politics to influence public policy," said George Lisicki, the national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. "In both cases, the actions of elected city officials have caused undue negative publicity for their cities."
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