This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Mhym (talk | contribs) at 01:55, 28 December 2012 (Undid revision 530072740 by Zimapr (talk) rm POV and copyrighted content, ack to stable version). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 01:55, 28 December 2012 by Mhym (talk | contribs) (Undid revision 530072740 by Zimapr (talk) rm POV and copyrighted content, ack to stable version)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Boise Kimber (born c. 1959) is an American Baptist minister of the First Calvary Baptist Church in New Haven, CT. He is also a commissioner of the New Haven Fire Department, the president of the Greater New Haven Clergy Association, and a community activist. He received a wide media attention after being mentioned in connection with the US Supreme Court case Ricci v. DeStefano.
Background
Kimber started preaching when he was 15 years old in Phenix City, Alabama. He moved to New Haven in 1983 and became a political powerbroker. In 1996, Kimber was convicted of stealing nearly $4,000 from an elderly woman, but did not receive jail time. The New Haven Mayor John DeStefano named Kimber a chairman of the fire commission in 2002, but he had to step down from the chairmanship amid a controversy for telling firefighters that people with "too many vowels" in their names might not be hired by the fire department.
Ricci v. DeStefano
As a commissioner, in 2004, Kimber openly lobbied to set aside the results of a firefighter's promotion exam, leading to a lawsuit by a group of 20 firefighters. In his concurring opinion in Ricci v. DeStefano, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito singled out Kimber for having political motivations in that decision, which brought Kimber into the center of the controversy and led to mass media attention. In particular, Emily Bazelon called Kimber "a convenient example of small-time race baiting and semi-thuggery."
References
- ^ A controversial figure, Kimber still at center of political scene, Yale Daily News, September 27, 2001.
- EDITORIAL: Kimber unfit to serve as fire commissioner, New Haven Register, December 7, 2008.
- Ricci v. DeStefano, a United States Supreme Court decision.
- Emily Bazelon, Ricci's Competing Story Lines, Slate magazine, June 29, 2009.