A white Leavenworth county commissioner denigrated a black woman’s appearance and told her he was part of the “master race” after she presented a land-use study at a Tuesday commission meeting.
"I don't want you to think I am picking on you because we are part of the master race," Commissioner Louis Klemp told the woman. "You have a gap in your teeth. We are part of the master race, don't you forget that."
Klemp implied the comment was a joke, KSHB reported.
Klemp was appointed to his seat after the previous member stepped down for health reasons. Others on the commission are asking for Klemp to resign before his last day, which is Jan. 15.
"I'm ashamed of one of our commissioners and what he has done. We shouldn't be labeled as Leavenworth County, the racist county. That's the way I feel we are being labeled," Commissioner Robert Holland told KSHB.
This is not the first time Klemp has made a controversial comment.
He praised Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee during a discussion of the county's 2018 holiday schedule, KHSB reported.
"Not everybody does them all because we have Robert E. Lee...Oh God, Robert E. Lee, wonderful part of history," Klemp said
He later called his own comment disappointing.
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