Hire them? Yes. A sign in Spanish? NO WAY!
September 23, 2007
Last year, Mayor Steve Lonegan, of Bogota, New Jersey, gained notoriety by demanding the removal of a Spanish-language McDonald’s billboard created by d expósito & Partners. He then tried to make English the official language of the tiny New Jersey town that bears the same name of Colombia’s capital. In a matter of hours, Lonegan was all over the news.
Well, the curious mayor is back in the news and- irony of ironies! – this time he is mentioned for the presumed discovery of two illegal immigrants working on repairs at a second home Lonegan owns in Bogota.
The mayor, a staunch conservative, says he “didn’t know they were illegal.” “I don’t like racially profiling employees.” Meanwhile, police chief Frank Gurnari called Lonegan’s claim “absurd.”
The two employees, Elder Chuta and Armando Gómez, said they were being paid $10 an hour.
They are both bilingual.