Rich Stanek: role model for white people

Two years ago Rich Stanek resigned from his post as State Public Safety Commissioner amid a furor over his acknowledgment that he'd used racial epithets and told racist jokes in the past. The veteran Minneapolis police officer's admission came in a 1992 deposition stemming from a police brutality lawsuit filed against him.

When word of Stanek's sworn testimony resurfaced in 2004, leaders in the black community led the calls for his resignation. Most notable among his critics: current Congressional candidate Keith Ellison. So it's a bit surprising that Insight, the Twin Cities' most prominent African American newspaper, has endorsed Stanek in his current bid for Hennepin County Sheriff.

Insight publisher Al McFarlane says that Stanek sought him out and appealed for forgiveness for his past mistakes. "We believe in redemption," McFarlane says. "We believe that people change. We believe that people can grow and we appreciate and we applaud people who are willing to say I was wrong and I stand before you asking for forgiveness. Rich Stanek is a model for white people. He really is."