Reacting to a controversial campaign mailing by Treasurer Frank O’Leary, a committee of Arlington Democrats will consider creating a candidate code of conduct.
The Arlington County Democratic Committee’s leadership acted Tuesday night after the O’Leary mailing was called racist. Last week, the African American Leadership Council of Arlington urged O’Leary, treasurer since 1983, to resign.
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In June, O’Leary sent a letter to wealthy constituents he believed would be fiscal conservatives, touting his record and questioning the platform of his challenger, Bob James. He wrote that James was supported by “eight minority churches.”
Referring to minority-owned banks, O’Leary wrote that his first priority was safeguarding county money by depositing it in qualified banks offering the highest interest rates. The mailing left the impression with some voters that O’Leary thought minority-owned banks weren’t reliable, said Christian Dorsey, chairman of the Leadership Council.
“The problem with a lot of this is if you want to interpret it that way, you can. I am not a racist person,” said O’Leary, who added he has a very diverse staff and has campaigned for minority candidates.
The Democrats’ steering committee denounced O’Leary’s letter and excluded his name from party campaign materials, chairman Peter Rousselot said Thursday. The decision by the Democratic leaders must be ratified by the entire party at its July 3 meeting. Rousselot expects it to pass easily.
O’Leary said a candidate code of conduct is a “real good idea,” adding his letter was written in response to a flyer that accused him of mismanagement and heavy-handed methods in collecting taxes. Rousselot said he rebuked James for his flyer.Rousselot will ask O’Leary to mail an apology to the recipients of his mailing and apologize in person to the minority churches.
“They’re not gonna get that,” O’Leary said. “I’m not writing anything to anybody where no offense was taken.” Of the 1,500 people who received the letter, he said, three complained. He wrote each to apologize, he said.
