Published December 22, 2011
By Conor Berry

Republican file photo: Easthampton City Councilor Donald Cykowski, shown here at a candidates forum this year, apologized at Wednesday's council meeting for a remark he made about Puerto Ricans at a Dec. 7 meeting.

SPRINGFIELD – The Rev. Talbert W. Swan II, president of the Springfield branch of the NAACP, has called on Easthampton officials to censure City Councilor Donald L. Cykowski for disparaging Puerto Ricans, the dominant Hispanic ethnic group in Western Massachusetts, for a remark made at a Dec. 7 City Council meeting.

Cykowski asked “Where’s a Puerto Rican when we need one?” after colleague and fellow councilor-at-large Ronald D. Chateauneuf left the meeting room and was unable to reenter when the door locked behind him.

Cykowski later apologized for the comment, which Swan characterized as a “racist” remark that should not be tolerated by Easthampton officials.

Swan said that Cykowski, as an elected official, “should consider resigning from public office, as he would be unfit to effectively serve his constituents.”

Swan, as leader of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, issued a statement early Thursday urging Easthampton leaders to “strongly condemn such actions and (to) censure” Cykowski, who made a public apology at Wednesday’s City Council meeting.

“I made a statement,” Cykowski said, without any further explanation. “If I offended anyone, I apologize.”

Swan said the apology was insufficient. He pointed out that Easthampton City Council President Joseph P. McCoy had to ask Cykowski to apologize, and that neither McCoy or Cykowski have “identified the remark for what it was – racist.”

Swan said that McCoy was correct in asking Cykowski to offer a public apology, but Easthampton city officials still need to do more to condemn the councilor’s actions.

“We challenge the Easthampton City Council to demonstrate the courage of conviction by strongly rebuking Cykowski’s actions in a unified voice, and truly validating the claim of council president that it does not condone such actions,” Swan said.

The NAACP chief said Cykowski should consider stepping down if he holds “such racist sentiments about Puerto Ricans or any other ethnic group.”

Cykowski has been a city councilor since 2004, replacing Bruce A. Gordon, who resigned.

The Rev. Talbert W. Swan II, president of the Springfield branch of the NAACP, believes Easthampton leaders should take stronger actions against a city councilor who made a disparaging remark about Puerto Ricans at a public meeting earlier this month.

Republican file photo The Rev. Talbert W. Swan II, president of the Springfield branch of the NAACP, believes Easthampton leaders should take stronger actions against a city councilor who made a disparaging remark about Puerto Ricans at a public meeting earlier this month.

McCoy said it was inappropriate and rare for a member of the City Council to make that kind of remark, but it remains unclear if city leaders intend to take further action against Cykowski.

McCoy, interviewed by The Republican before the start of Wednesday evening’s City Council meeting, said such a decision would hinge on whether Cykowski offered an apology. That apology was made soon after the meeting began, with the council resuming normal business afterward.

Swan acknowledged that some people may be willing to give Cykowski a slide, considering the remark was allegedly made in jest, and they may view the NAACP’s concerns about the issue as “race baiting.” But that argument doesn’t hold water, he claimed, saying Cykowski should have known better not to stereotype “an entire race as criminals during a public meeting.”

Swan, in letter to McCoy, applauded the City Council president for requesting Cykowski to apologize, but said that “stronger action is necessary.”

“Massachusetts has one of the highest concentrations of Puerto Ricans in the country. Elected officials in Massachusetts should take pride in the fact that Puerto Ricans have contributed to the development, defense and prosperity of the United States since 1898, when the island was ceded to the (U.S.) at the end of the Spanish-American War,” Swan said in the letter, which is dated Thursday, Dec. 22.

“Mr. Cykowski’s racist remarks were not only offensive to members of the council, but to citizens throughout the commonwealth,” Swan said.