Elk Grove Vice Mayor Pat Hume offers public apology to respected civil rights activist

In a somewhat unusual moment at last night's Elk Grove City Council meeting, Vice Mayor Pat Hume issued an apology to a well-regarded civil rights activist.

The comments from Hume came during the hearing on what is a contentious issue for him, the switch to by-district elections. The apology was to Amar Shergill who has been a longtime advocate of civil rights.

Hume referenced the August 28 city council meeting and said he felt he is being forced against his will to address the civil rights concerns of individuals like Shergill. The context of Hume's comments which compelled the apology was not revealed by Hume or Shergill.

At that same August 28 meeting, before commenting on by-district representation, a visibly moved Shergill noted he had come from a vigil in Tracy, Calif. for an elderly Sikh man who was killed by stabbing in an apparent hate crime. The victim was wearing a traditional Sikh turban at the time of his death. (Shergill's comment at the August 28 meeting can be viewed here).

Below is an audio of Humes comments. 

During the last night's meeting, a tweet was displayed on Elk Grove News' Twitter (@ElkGroveNews) referencing Hume's apology. Shergill retweeted, and his message is below. 

I accepted his apology and will be following up regarding the nature of the comments and to whom. We all make mistakes but it's important that there is appropriate accountability. https://t.co/z8wNrhAVt4

— Amar Shergill (@AmarShergillCA) September 12, 2019

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