Some Hispanic advocates Wednesday called on the administration of Gov. Robert Ehrlich to eject the leader of a panel that nominates trial judges after he used a slur on his Web log. Although Ehrlich's office condemned the remarks, aides weren't saying if William G. Duvall Jr. will be allowed to remain chairman of the 13-member panel that nominates trial judges in three counties on the lower Eastern Shore. Ehrlich appointed Duvall to the commission in July 2003.
The remarks, made in a May 5 post on Duvall's politically conservative Web log, caused a stir Tuesday after a report in The (Salisbury) Daily Times.
Duvall, a retired attorney, made the remarks as he commented on a proposal to use a former boot camp as a facility for women detained by federal immigration authorities. "Now it wants to turn the place into a warehouse for illegal female wetbacks," he wrote.
On Tuesday, he initially used his blog to defend his posting, saying the term "is a slur only in the eyes of the beholder." Later that day, he filed a post saying he "emphatically" apologized to "any and all who may have been personally offended by my posts."
Duvall hasn't returned calls seeking comment. He told Ehrlich's office Wednesday he is considering taking further action, said Ehrlich spokeswoman Shareese DeLeaver, who declined to elaborate.
A year ago, Ehrlich declined to apologize after calling multiculturalism "crap" and "bunk" on a radio talk show. He sought to clarify his remarks by emphasizing Americans should celebrate their heritage without isolating individual ethnic groups, but his comments elicited an outcry. The Montgomery County Council approved a resolution asking the Republican governor to apologize.
"I think if Ehrlich ignores it and doesn't do anything about it, by silence or by a wink and a nod, it certainly reflects negatively on him," said Delegate Ana Sol Gutierrez, a Montgomery County Democrat and a native of El Salvador.