By Maria Carter
KANSAS CITY, MO – Embattled Kansas City Parks Board member Frances Semler is stepping down. Semler said in a letter to the media that she'd had enough of the controversy surrounding her membership in the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps. Mayor Mark Funkhouser appointed Semler to the Parks Board in June. Minority groups protested after Semler's connection with the Minuteman group was revealed and the National Council of La Raza pulled its national convention from the city. Last week, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference moved its convention from Kansas City to New Orleans and threatened a boycott of the city unless Semler was removed. Semler wrote in the letter she felt the controversy had been fueled by the media, La Raza, and other minority groups and that she also felt betrayed by the mayor in recent comments.