Isn't that something that, you know, the voters could decide?

Uh, yeah, requiring an elected official speak English is nowhere near legal. Of course this comes to us from that hotspot of bigotry, Arizona.

GAT_00: Uh, yeah, requiring an elected official speak English is nowhere near legal. Of course this comes to us from that hotspot of bigotry, Arizona.

Let me flip that thought for you: Even if it is illegal, how in God's name is someone supposed to do a job when all the reading and listening involved is all in a language they cannot understand enough? Why would you elect someone like that? Why would someone do that to themselves? And why in the hell would you immigrate to a country where they speak a different language and *assume* you know it enough?

\the more I hear debates like this, the more I want to go back in time and figure out how long it took my ancestors 100+ years ago to learn English in a city that had at least five discernible languages going on (English, French, Portuguese, Italian, Polish)

Arizona and Florida are proving that Logan's Run made a lot of sense.

WTF.

FriarReb98: Let me flip that thought for you: Even if it is illegal, how in God's name is someone supposed to do a job when all the reading and listening involved is all in a language they cannot understand enough? Why would you elect someone like that? Why would someone do that to themselves? And why in the hell would you immigrate to a country where they speak a different language and *assume* you know it enough?

Let me flip that thought for you again: if a community consistently elects Spanish-speakers, maybe that's a sign the government should be regularly conducting business in that language.

dahmers love zombie: Isn't that something that, you know, the voters could decide?

They might vote wrong. We can't have that.

/would explain a lot about our foreign policy

I bet she READS English really well, though.

Is she completely unintelligible/illiterate speaking or writing English or is this just Arizona being Arizona?

I am a "latino" as it seems since my biological father is from Colombia.

That being said I can speak English and Spanish.

English is my native tongue as I grew up in the states, but I am about 99% in Spanish due to living on and off in Latin America because of job requirements.

Methinks she should have a little better command of English, and perhaps learn something other than beaner streat spic.

dbaggins: jingks: While I'm aware the United States has no official language, can government documents be written in any language, or is there some provision that they have to be stored in English?

I think Arizona state law says English-Only.

But barring her from candidacy is a mistake. She has a right to be a candidate, everyone does. If she is elected, and then cannot function in the job, she can then be removed and a special election called to fill her position. Not efficient, but at least it respects everyone's rights.

Oh, that makes a whole lot of farking sense, but what the hell let her run.

YouPeopleAreCrazy: "I know that many people know both languages, but the truth is that, whether we like or not, all the people speak Spanish. If you go the market, if you go to the post office, if you go to pay your water bill, nobody speaks to you in English," she said.

Does no one else see a problem with this statement/concept?

You sound racist.

If you're elected, then the other council members become your coworkers. Shouldn't you be expected to communicate effectively with your coworkers?

/have been in meetings like this

Having an elected official speak the language of her constituents?

The horror

Biff Spiffy: If you're elected, then the other council members become your coworkers. Shouldn't you be expected to communicate effectively with your coworkers?

/have been in meetings like this

No offense, but business and representative government are slightly different things.

redmid17: theflatline: I am a "latino" as it seems since my biological father is from Colombia.

That being said I can speak English and Spanish.

English is my native tongue as I grew up in the states, but I am about 99% in Spanish due to living on and off in Latin America because of job requirements.

Methinks she should have a little better command of English, and perhaps learn something other than beaner streat street spic.

That was probably intentional, but the irony isn't lost if you had a brain fart.

/have many brain farts

IT was intentional... thanks for catching it.

If she doesn't speak English, how did she proficiently vow to appeal?

Anyone find a video of her speaking english? I could not. I was able to find one of her speaking Mexican spanish, almost sounded like a Tijuana hooker.

The funny thing is, the guy who brought the suit against her, is also Mexican. But he can speak english.

Biff Spiffy: If you're elected, then the other council members become your coworkers. Shouldn't you be expected to communicate effectively with your coworkers?

/have been in meetings like this

She can communicate with her coworkers. They speak Spanish.

FriarReb98: Let me flip that thought for you

Even if it is illegal, how in God's name is someone supposed to do a job when all the reading and listening involved is intended for Christian men? Why would you elect a woman? And why in the hell would you try to insert yourself into a society dominated by another gender and *assume* you can interact on their level?

Maybe it's a bad plan to elect her. Maybe it will make her life miserable. Aren't those decisions best left to the voters and the candidate, rather than those currently in power? Isn't any limitation on who is eligible to hold power a form of injustice that should be carefully and specifically justified when the power to make that decision is removed from the people?

learn English in a city that had at least five discernible languages going on (English, French, Portuguese, Italian, Polish)

They learned English because there were 5 languages, not in spite of it. If there are a lot of languages you all have to pick a common one to get along because the average person cannot learn 5 languages in their spare time. That isn't the case when there are only 2 languages -- yes, there's still an advantage to a common language, but there isn't the same sort of necessity.

She refused to take a test to prove her abilities in English, so when she went to court this is what happened.

However, when Cabrera was called to the stand, she was unable to answer a question from Minore asking her which high school she graduated from. Although she was able to give replies to questions asking her name and where she was born, she could not answer the graduation question despite it being asked three times.

After her third failed attempt to answer the question, Judge Nelson dismissed her from the stand and issued his ruling.

watch the video here she cannot understand basic questions.

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