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’ve wondered when I was going to see this pop up online. For once, the local newspaper actually provided political news I’d not yet seen.
To say that O’Leary didn’t have to go there is an understatement – he could have gone on vacation the week before the primary and he still would have carried it by a 2:1 margin over James.
The question that I’ve got, now, is what should O’Leary do? I really don’t know.
This is the most heartbreaking development for Arlington Dems I’ve ever seen. Everyone I’ve spoken with about this was astonished, disappointed, saddened, outraged, and ultimately just depressed.
Frank is one of this nation’s most able County Treasurers, possibly the best in the nation. Arlingtonians were proud of him. Can you imagine that? Who even knows who their County Tresurer is? Most people don’t even know who the Secretary of the Tresury is, but Arlingtoninans literally love(d) Frank O.
There’s no obvious way forward, but there could be a pathway for courage here…
I believe times of trial are the compass needles towards great opportunity. This is the first time in memory that race has become an issue in Arlington. Courageous Arlington Democrats should see this as an opportunity to engage communities of diversity.
This moment blows the windows open on a hidden, silent, present tension. There is a way forward that includes courage, opportunity, and most of all respect.
Josh makes an excellent point. It’s important to remember that as diverse as NoVA may be, racism isn’t limited to Richmond or Hampton Roads or Southwest Virginia. Nor is it limited to Virginia at large. Nor is it simply a Southern problem. It’s a pervasive part of American culture, and it’s not going to just go away if we stop talking about it. I would encourage Arlington dems to start a dialogue on the subject in their communities.
There is no place in public service for racist behavior. If this man has shown himself to be a bigot or racist, then he needs to step down. The thing that saddens me is that Democrats are so quick to ask for the resignation and political death of a Republican who shows himself or herself to be a bigot or racist, but when it is a Democrat then all of that judgement and quick sentencing goes out the window. I think this man should be shown the door. If he were half the man that everyone says he is, then he would voluntarily and quietly walk away.
Then Va Beach should have shown John Atkinson the door a long time ago.
LowTax – if we threw out all of the electeds who demonstrate racist behavior, I doubt there would be many left.
anonymous hit the nail on the head on racism:
And that’s why I blog about it. It is pervasive in our culture, and rears its ugly head constantly.
We’ve integrated our schools, our workplaces, and our neighborhoods. What haven’t we integrated?
Our hearts.
So, according to your way of thinking, we should just accept the fact that there are racist elected officals making policy in this country and not demand their removal when they show their true nature to us. I strongly disagree with you there. If someone proves themselves to be a racist or bigot, then they should be removed from office. There are plenty of good people trying to serve their communities and the void would and could be filled by those people.
Nope, I didn’t say that. What I did was acknowledge the obvious.
Look – I know you’re new here so you might want to look around a bit.
There’s a study on the web somewhere (I think on the Harvard website) about racism. Basically, it shows that everyone has latent racism in them. That’s what I’m getting at.
What O’Leary did was allow that latent racism to come to fore. Does that make him a racist or a bigot? Only in the very broad sense of the terms. If he truly were a racist or a bigot, I doubt he would have all those minorities in his office.
Oh – and the treasurer’s office doesn’t make policy 😉
(Someone forgot to tell Bob James that :))
Here’s the test.
I think that you need a refresher on the difference between prejudice and racism. The definition of racism is a hatred or intolerance of another race or other races. To say that everyone is a racist, is to say that everyone is walking around with hatred towards other races in their hearts and that is wrong.
The definition of prejudice is an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason. I think that almost everyone is prejudice, because we as human beings tend to form an opinion about someone or something before we have actually met them or learn anything about a subject or thing.
While I may be new around here, I am not new to the world itself. I have seen and witnessed on many occasions the way Democrats, especially blacks, turn a blind eye or deaf ear towards Democrats who say some the most offensive things ever; but had that been a Republican, they would have been screaming from the top of their lungs for that person’s removal.
When I spoke about policy, I was not speaking just in terms of the Treasurer’s Office. Thanks for letting me know that the Treasurer doesn’t make policy, because I can now focus my future anger in the right direction when the time comes.
Um, you really need to look around at my posts here before you go off about race, racism and prejudice. As a black Democrat, I have no problem calling racists racists.
And, based on your comments, I doubt that you bothered to even read the linked posts.
As a black Republican, I hate to see blacks in this country become unglued when a Republican makes a bigoted or racist statement; but that same statement spoken from the lips of a Democrat stirs up nothing. That is appalling. While I do not know what your experience with racism is, because I have seen and experienced racism and bigotry firsthand, I do not tolerate from anyone, Republican or Democrat.
Finally, I do not need a study to tell me about racism and prejudice. People are not inherently hateful and evil. People are cautious and careful about the unkown.
I’m having the hardest . . . ah, nevermind.
To everyone: I highly recommend taking the time to check out the bias test that Vivian linked. It’s really something.