Atwater city councilman Gary Frago is stepping down as mayor pro tem after forwarding racist e-mails to city and county officials.
Frago acknowledged he sent the e-mails from his personal account that denigrated President Barack Obama, the first lady and black people in late 2008 and early 2009, the San Francisco Chronicle reported:
Councilman Gary Frago admitted sending e-mails comparing Obama to O.J. Simpson, about Obama taxing aspirin because "it's white and it works" and one about Michelle Obama posing nude for National Geographic.
"I will be stepping down immediately from my position as mayor pro tem," said Frago in a prepared statement.
"I can only move forward by starting to do right," he said in the statement.
Initially, Frago downplayed the incident, saying he just passed on the e-mails and did not originate them.
"I don't see where there's a story, I'm not the only one that does it," he told the Merced Sun-Star on July 21. "I didn't originate them, they came to me, and I just passed them on."
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He has since apologized, and will enroll in sensitivity training.
