Sen. Jim Honeyford, R-Sunnyside, apologized Thursday for using the words "Negro" during an interview and "colored" during a Senate committee hearing last week.
“Some say that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” Honeyford said in a written statement. “I’m here to say that’s not always true. Many have approached me this week to tell me that a 76-year-old man doesn’t always use language that is appropriate in 2015. I sincerely appreciate the people who took the time to tell me that some of the language I have used has been hurtful to them.
“Even my wife has weighed in on this issue. I am deeply sorry for the hurt I have caused; it was certainly not my intent to offend anyone."
Honeyford, who is white, represents the 15th Legislative District, which is eastern Yakima County. That district's population is 55 percent Hispanic.
Last week during a Senate Ways & Means Committee hearing in Olympia, Honeyford used the word "colored" while discussing how poor people commit a disproportionate number of crimes and that people of color are heavily represented among the poor, the Yakima Herald-Republic reported. The paper also reported that in multiple interviews during the following days, Honeyford had said he wasn’t sorry for his wording.
In a phone interview early this week with a KIMA-TV reporter in Yakima about that language, he used the word "Negro." That prompted further criticism from Yakima Valley residents.
