Arizona Republic

Activist for English Immersion Injects Feud into Arizona Race
By PAT KOSSAN, The Arizona Republic

California businessman Ron Unz is financing a state-by-state campaign to replace bilingual education with English immersion in the nation's public schools. He backed a successful Arizona initiative in 2000.

On Monday, he sent an e-mail throwing his considerable political weight and cash behind Tom Horne, a candidate for state superintendent of public instruction and strong English immersion supporter. 

But in the same message in which he calls Horne a highly successful Harvard-educated lawyer and principled Republican, he aims a number of insults at U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige, an African-American.

Unz's e-mail refers to Paige, a former Texas Southern University dean of education and superintendent of the Houston Independent School District, as a "Black former football coach" who obtained his job only through George W. Bush's intense support of "affirmative access."

Paige fills the Cabinet position in name only, Unz writes, and his "apparent lack of ability to master or comprehend that portfolio meant that he played virtually no role last year in either shaping or articulating Bush's signature education bill."

Unz's campaign for a similar measure is struggling in Colorado. Paige visited the state last week and suggested that such decisions should be left up to the local school district.

Unz's comments drew a sharp response from Paige's Washington, D.C., spokesman Daniel Langan.

"Secretary Paige has a demonstrated record of success as a coach, as a dean, as a superintendent of one of the largest school districts in the country," Langan said.

"He's very much involved in crafting the (No Child Left Behind) Act and is doing everything in his power to see that this bipartisan act is implemented successfully in every community in the country. He will continue on his tour to raise awareness."

"As far as Mr. Unz's outrageous and inappropriate comments about the secretary," Langan said, "I don't think they're worthy of a reaction at this time."

At first, Horne said he had no comment about Unz's comments on Paige. 

When shown the comments on Monday, Horne said he had not seen them before.

"I don't agree with what he said about Mr. Paige," said Horne, who is expected to share the spotlight with Unz at a press conference about the importance of English immersion this morning at the state Capitol.

"But we share an interest in enforcing the initiative that substitutes English immersion for bilingual education," Horne said. "That is what is important for Arizona students."

When asked if Unz's comments were racist, Horne said, "All I can say is what I've said."

Unz, as noted in his regular and lengthy e-mails to national media outlets and supporters, has been unhappy with what he views as Arizona's lack of enthusiasm for enforcing the English immersion law.