Muslim advocates say Corona City Councilman Randy Fox is guilty of bigoted language worthy of censure. Fox, a church pastor, says he was just exercising his first amendment right to free speech from the pulpit of his church. On Oct. 17, his colleagues on the dais may get the last word.
The controversy began after video of one of Fox’s August sermons surfaced online. In it, he claimed that one of the candidates running for City Council “will not say no to sharia law.”
The statement appears to be a reference to Fauzia Rizvi who is running for District 4. Rizvi is a Muslim who previously served as General Secretary of the Islamic Society of Corona-Norco.
A petition for Fox’s censure is now circulating, spearheaded by the Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The City Council has not said whether an option for censure will be part of its next regularly scheduled meeting on Oct. 17.
Fox was elected to his seat in November of 2014. He is not running for a second term.