We Tried to Warn Chief Moore About Standing Too Close to Assemblyman Felix Ortiz
A couple of months back, in an effort to be helpful, we warned Rochester Police Chief Moore about attending a press conference with New York City area Assemblyman Felix Ortiz. The guy is a real whacko. We are sensitive to the need to schmooze the Hispanic community, but hanging out with Assemblyman Ortiz isn’t the way to go.
According to today’s Albany Times Union, Ortiz obtained $4,000 in state pork barrel for a group that former members claim is a cult. The Times Union says:
Ortiz said he sponsored the expenditure in the 2008-2009 budget because the group asked him for funding for services at Brooklyn senior citizen centers.
He said he did not know anything about the foundation but he had heard good things about it from Raices, a Brooklyn-based senior services organization to which he has sent $2,000 in member items annually for several years. AR hasn’t received public funding in the 13 years it has been providing senior programs in New York City.
The real problem though, is that this group claims it can “cure” homosexuality. Again according to the TU:
Bluejay quotes from the writings of a leader of the group, including, “It is a beautiful fact that through study of Aesthetic Realism… men have changed from homosexuality. … Eli Siegel’s statement of the cause of homosexuality (contempt for the world)… is scientific law.”
Rich A. Ross, who tracks cults for a living, backs Bluejay’s assessment and said public funds should not be used for a group with such a narrow agenda.
“It’s a very specific philosophy,” Ross said. “Why would taxpayer money be used to fund that?”
Ortiz said the foundation asked other lawmakers for funding. It did not approach its own Assembly member, Deborah Glick, an openly gay Democrat. She said she would have denied the request.
“Not now, not ever,” she said.
This could really be a big problem politically. Gays, lesbians and trans-genders are a big part of the Democratic coalition. If Mark Siwieck finds out about this, it could cost the Chief his job.
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