Controversy subsiding over Atwater councilman's racist e-mail

It’s been more than a year since Councilman Gary Frago’s racially charged e-mails to city staff and others created a public outcry — but the uproar has all but vanished.

Calls for his resignation and the push for a recall never came to fruition, but Napoleon Washington Jr., president of the Merced County National Association for the Advancement of Colored People branch 1047, doesn’t think his organization failed.

Frago himself strongly denies that he still sends racially insensitive e-mails. “It wasn’t right and I don’t do it anymore,” Frago said.

He’s even made amends with some of the people who spoke out against him, he added. A Vietnam veteran, Frago thinks racism remains an issue — but not in Atwater. “Race is serious business, but I don’t think we have race issues here, or even in the area,” he said. “We’re just digging into it deeper, and I don’t think there’s a story here. I don’t even know why it’s coming back up.”

Frago said the impact of the controversy didn’t end with him. “It put pressure on my family,” he said. “They didn’t do anything.”

Frago thinks the media coverage around the scandal had played itself out. He said things have returned to normal for him, and doesn’t understand why the issue’s being revisited.

NAACP officials: We did our partWashington helped lead the push to reprimand Frago on behalf of the NAACP, frequenting council meetings and speaking out against e-mails the councilman sent. "We got our message across, it's about causing awareness," Washington said. "There were not winners or losers in this."

A committee was organized to pursue a recall, but the people of Atwater decided they didn't want to move forward with it, he said. It was in their hands.

The fire has died down around the scandal, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's over, Washington added. "It's not a dead issue, but it's not alive either," he said. "It's in limbo."

Atwater didn't push the recall effort the way Livingston did with utility rates, but that doesn't mean they gave up, Washington said.

Michelle Allison, a member and former president of the Merced County branch of the NAACP, also thinks the organization did an effective job. The situation allowed the group to look into the city's hiring process, she said. The effort was more about education than anything else.

Frago went through training and apologized, but it can't stop with that, Allison said. "Just because you're not lynching people doesn't make it OK," she said. "The e-mails opened up a wound that hadn't healed for a lot of people. Racism is alive and well in America."

Several e-mails were acquired by reporter Jonah Owen Lamb of the Sun-Star. The story broke July 17, 2009.

Everyone tells bad jokes, but Frago was caught doing it in a public way, which is similar to "having your pants pulled down in front of a bunch of people," Allison said. "Unfortunately, he had to endure the embarrassment and humiliation of a lot of people seeing him with his pants down," she said.

There are those who think the NAACP doesn't always do its demographic justice.

According to the blog of award-winning author Roger Simon, there's a strong argument that the NAACP should no longer exist, and the organization has become a "creator," not a fighter, of racism. "If things get better for black people, the NAACP has no reason for being -- or must devolve into some kind of social club," he wrote.

Simon was a civil rights worker in the South during the '60s, according to his blog.

NAACP officials argue that change takes time and doesn't happen immediately.

"Just like with the civil rights movement, it takes a while," Allison said. "It doesn't happen overnight." Allison added that she "wasn't calling for him (Frago) to be removed."

Though the pressure was mounting, Frago said he wasn't fearful of being recalled if that's what they wanted.

Recall: a massive undertaking

To recall Frago, there would have to be about 2,130 signatures collected, according to the Merced County Elections Department.

The ethnic makeup of Atwater is estimated to include 16,349 white people, 1,044 black people, 13,549 Latinos and 1,572 Asians, according to a 2006-2008 census survey.

The racial jokes Frago forwarded referenced various minorities.

Al Mayfield, an Atwater resident who spearheaded the recall effort, said after speaking to many people, the consensus was that a recall would have involved a major effort and that effort could be spent getting a better candidate elected to the council with the support of the community.

"It was thought by many that Gary Frago is very, very well entrenched with the support base that he has, which got him elected," Mayfield said. "We just basically tolerate him until his term ends in 2012."

The recall effort didn't have enough backing to combat Frago's support group that's grown around him, he said.

Frago's amends

Mayfield doesn't think Frago has yet made his actions right with the community.

"He was very adamant in his first statements that 'I don't think I did anything wrong,'" Mayfield explained. "He didn't want to admit up to it and, really, the only thing that he felt he might have done wrong was to send it on the city's e-mail system rather than on his private e-mail."

Frago's arrogance and demeanor haven't changed, Mayfield said. "His agenda is still the same," he said. "Honestly, I am certain that by using another e-mail provider, his own personal, he and some of his friends are still doing it."

Mayfield did receive some of the same racially charged e-mails that Frago did, but asked to be removed from the mailing list, he said.

As a black Vietnam veteran who was raised in the South, Mayfield said he's lived through racism and was deeply affected by the content of the e-mails being passed around.

Mayfield understands there's still racism, but tries to fight it where he can. "I've seen it before Vietnam, during Vietnam and some after Vietnam," he said.

Washington was mostly bothered by the public display of racism, he said. Usually when someone's outed in the manner that Frago was, the activity gets pushed behind closed doors. "If it went underground -- fine," Washington said.

In September of last year, Washington said the NAACP planned to keep protesting until Frago was out of office or he changed. Frago did "somewhat" apologize and went through sensitivity training, Washington said.

"Hopefully, there won't be anything else like this coming from him in the future," Washington said. "It hit a sensitive nerve in the community."

Washington mentioned that the e-mails, some of which degraded black people, came soon after first lady Michelle Obama visited UC Merced in 2009. "There was nothing but positive response during a horrible economic time, then this came out," Washington said.

The issue was far from a local one, Washington added. "It affected the nation," he said. "We heard from people across the country. This won't ever be acceptable in America."

Recall efforts could have been handled better

As a result of the e-mails, Frago received a letter of reprimand from the city, which is "not even a slap on the wrist," said Simon Weffer-Elizondo, an assistant professor of sociology at UC Merced.

Weffer-Elizondo's research interests include race in politics and issues involving racial/ethnic identity and relations.

By coordinating with the media better to get its message the cross, the NAACP might have been able to bring about change, he said. "Had there been enough pressure by the media getting people to mobilize locally, something may have happened," Weffer-Elizondo said.

It takes a coordinated media and grassroots campaign to effect change, he added.

In addition to poor coordination with the media, there was also a lack of other Central Valley organizations involved, Weffer-Elizondo said. Too much of the effort was on the shoulders of the NAACP, when the issue affected many various kinds of people. "Why didn't other racial and ethnic groups join the NAACP?" he asked.

There isn't a high percentage of African Americans in the Central Valley, Weffer-Elizondo noted. But there is a large Latino population, and Latinos were also referenced in the e-mails. More religious groups should have also joined the effort, whatever the denomination, he added.

However, there were still a lot of people motivated and looking for change, Weffer-Elizondo said. "With the energy that I saw from people in the Central Valley, I'm surprised change didn't happen," he said.

A city moving forward

There are plenty of positive things going on in Atwater, Washington said.

Mayor Joan Faul agrees. The council reviewed policies, went through training and special counseling sessions as a result of the situation.

The council, Frago included, is doing good things for the city, she said. It's time to move on. "I know we are a lot more careful with e-mails and how they're used," Faul said. "It's been a learning experience for every member of our community. I think that we have overcome that problem."

Frago said he also wants to get past the issue.

"We went through the training, I apologized," he said. "I made a mistake. Now I want to move on. Everybody's trying to move on."

Reporter Mike North can be reached at (209) 385-2453 or mnorth@mercedsun-star.com.

This story was originally published October 23, 2010 at 2:30 AM with the headline "Controversy subsiding over Atwater councilman's racist e-mail."