Rockland County Legislature Candidate Draws Fire Over Alleged Racist Remarks
A candidate for the County Legislature in Rockland is drawing fire after he made what some say was a controversial and racist remark on a radio show earlier this month.
Candidate Robert Romanowksi is running on the Republican and Serve America Movement lines.
The controversy stems from this statement he said two weeks ago on the radio: “I support a redistricting to keep like communities together.”
Some listeners say Romanowski said “keep white communities together.”
Romanowksi said to News 12 he said “like communities,” not “white communities.”
When News 12 asked him to define “like communities,” he said he meant communities that share geographical borders.
“Keep like communities like Stony Point and Haverstraw together. And put Hillburn with Sloatsburg,” he said.
His explanation may be a little too late. Politicians like Suffern Mayor Ed Markunas tell News 12 they received phone calls after the show from people upset by Romanowski’s comments.
Markunas added that it doesn’t matter whether Romanowski said “like” or “white” communities – his message is the same.
“Why would you keep like communities together? Why are you putting everyone in a different box?” he asks.
