Ward Connerly, the mastermind behind Proposition 208 and Proposal 2, state measures that outlawed race and sex preferences in government hiring and admissions, tried to comment on the post “Has ‘White Guilt’ Run Its Course?,” but was unable to for some reason.
A couple of commenters questioned Connerly’s integrity, accusing him of being a hypocrite. Here is Connerly’s response (via e-mail) in its entirety:
“It seems that one of those who posted to your site is fascinated by the issue of whether I registered my firm as a ‘minority’ contractor. To set the record straight, I have NEVER registered or certified my firm as a ‘minority contractor’ with the federal government, the state government or any city or county agency. My firm has NEVER received any preference as a ‘minority contractor.’ The contract reported on by the S.F. Chronicle is one that my firm already had when the law went into effect requiring all contractors to award 15% of their contracts to minority-owned subcontractors. I refused to certify as required by the new law. To settle the matter, the California Energy Commission – the procurement agency – asked if I would sign a form stating that I was ‘black’ and that I owned at least 50.1% of my firm. If I agreed to do so, I would not have to subcontract 15% of the contract, which would have made its implementation financially infeasible, the CEC would be in compliance with the law, and an expensive lawsuit could be avoided. Because I am regarded as ‘black’ and did (do) own at least 50.1% of my firm, I signed the form confirming those facts. That ended the matter. No ‘certification’ or registration ever occurred.’”
Thanks for the response, Mr. Connerly, and for reading LBC (and calling the blog “superb”). 
