During my run for Treasurer in 2005, I was urged to contact Arlington Treasurer Frank O’Leary. I arranged to visit his office where I met Commissioner of the Revenue Ingrid Morroy. The two of them gave me a tremendous amount of insight into the process and lots of ideas about how things could be done in Norfolk.
I was happy to add my name to the list of people who supported O’Leary during his recent primary campaign. Arlington deserves – as do we all – the very best and as treasurer, O’Leary is one of the best, having been named North American Treasurer of the Year.
When I first started hearing about “the letter,” I was surprised. After all, O’Leary’s office has been a model of diversity:
Today, there are 60 employees in the Treasurer’s office. Minority employees are as follows: African – American 30%, Asian 16%, Hispanic 12%, and foreign born 23%.
Nevertheless, from what I’ve been able to gather, not only was the letter inflammatory, O’Leary’s initial response was to be combative and not conciliatory.
“I did not notice the umbrage that you now espouse, when Bob, proclaiming himself the minority candidate, attacked me as one who harbors (perhaps, encourages) thieves in his office and gleefully rubs his hands as he deliberately causes tax delinquency,” O’Leary wrote.
An apology was issued but the damage was already done, prompting 20 Arlington elected officials to issue a rebuke. It was this article – and the accompanying sidebar – that made me realize just how upset Arlington Democrats were with O’Leary. (A separate apology was issued to O’Leary supporters.) According to this article, O’Leary requested that his name be removed from the Democratic sample ballot and this article says that the committee voted to do so.
To say that it saddens me to see this would be an understatement. It goes to the core of what I try to explain over and over: that racism is such a part of our society that sometimes even the best among us use it as a fall back position. O’Leary didn’t have to go there – and he has damaged his relationships with his friends, his supporters, his co-workers, fellow Democrats and certainly Ingrid for a long time to come.
For some, O’Leary’s statements are demonstrative of his “true colors.” For others, it is just pouring salt in an already open wound. For me, it is just a tremendous disappointment.
I hope that Arlington can find a way to heal.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
“I don’t *hate* blacks, I just think they have smaller brains because of the size and shapes of their skulls. It’s not their fault, but you can’t ignore the fact that they will never be as intelligent or as capable as white people. I read it in some book on phrenology, which is totally a science because it has ‘ology’ right there in the name.”
Racist, or prejudiced, LowTax? What if I say something like, “Blacks are lazy?” Is it only racist if I replace “black” with racial slur? In order to cross the line, do I have to burn one? A cross, I mean. Help me out, because I didn’t realize that it was okay for me as a white Southern male to still hold prejudices against blacks as long as I wasn’t all intolerant about it.
added: I forgot to mention, in response to your comment that democrats will let racism slide from other democrats and only castigate republicans for it. Did it occur to you that the reason all these democrats who are completely pissed off are removing his name from the democratic sample ballot is that O’Leary is, himself, a democrat?
That was the other thing I wanted to mention, I just got caught up with your quibbling about the difference between racism and prejudice because I find it truly disturbing.
Frank O’Leary is NOT a racist- he made a stupid decision… Thanks Vivian for posting on this and shame on everyone who made broad sweeping statements about a man they’re never even seen before.
As an Arlintonian, I will not be voting for Frank O’Leary in November. There was absolutely no need to send that letter and his “apologies” in my opinion were not sincere. That has no place in Arlington Democratic politics, let alone Virginia Democratic politics.
opps… that would be Arlingtonian…
I was less than impressed, too, and probably won’t cast a vote for him. But even if you, me, and 10,000 other people make that choice, O’Leary will still be Treasurer. So I’m still stuck with the question – what should/could O’Leary do?