ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, May 22, 1996 TAG: 9605220063
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
Almost three months ago, Delano Page was ejected from a Richmond City Council meeting for attacking an ordinance and for calling some clergymen ``devils.''
On Tuesday, Mayor Leonidas Young got a response from the American Civil Liberties Union - a suit filed in U.S. District Court demanding that the city allow Page back into council meetings.
Page, president of the African American Community Group, was tossed out of a Feb. 26 council meeting for making comments critical of clergymen while opposing an ordinance to move some polling places into churches.
Young and Page are both Baptist ministers.
According to a meeting transcript, Page said ``a lot of ministers involved in politics ... [are] just the biggest devils as you are going to find on the face of the Earth.''
At that point, Young cut Page off, told him he was out of order and ejected him from the auditorium.
In a letter to Page, Young wrote that Page had been expelled for ``disruptive behavior.'' Young also wrote that Page would not be allowed to address the council or attend future sessions until he met with the mayor to discuss the ejection.
The ACLU asks for a temporary restraining order suspending the ban, followed by a permanent injunction and unspecified monetary damages.
LENGTH: Short : 36 linesby CNB