Twenty-eight local and national Asian American advocacy groups launched a campaign yesterday asking Councilmember Marion Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) to apologize for comments he made earlier this week about Filipino nurses at local hospitals.

“We are extremely disappointed and dismayed to be unfairly maligned by an elected official like D.C. Councilmember Marion Barry,” wrote Marissa Usman, president of the Philippine Nurses Association of the Washington DC Metropolitan Region, in a letter announcing the campaign, which includes a petition asking that Barry apologize.

“For many decades, Filipino nurses have been recruited to serve not only in this country but all over the world because of our professionalism, competence and complete dedication to quality patient care. Filipino health care professionals have become a vital part of America’s health care system and we are proud of the work we do. We are committed to working together with other health care professionals to build strong, safe and healthy communities.”

Yesterday Philippine Ambassador Jose Cuisia similarly asked Barry to apologize, calling his comments about Filipino nurses “deplorable.” Today the Post’s editorial board spares nothing, opining that “[t]he former mayor, by word and deed, long ago ceased to command respect.”

If Barry thinks that the criticism might die down today, he’s probably in for a surprise. This morning he’s chairing an oversight hearing of the D.C. Council Committee on Aging and Community Affairs, which has oversight of—you guessed it—the Office of Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs.