Pinole Reprimands Mayor for Remark on King Holiday
PINOLE, Calif. — The City Council has designated Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a paid holiday and reprimanded the mayor who earlier said he didn’t want to pay city employees “to take the day off to honor a (black man).”
Council members Ann Williams and Gretchen Mariotto urged colleagues to oust Mayor John Goularte at a contentious meeting attended by more than 100 people.
But the effort to remove the mayor fizzled when the council unanimously accepted Goularte’s apology.
At least two city employees overheard the remark that Goularte made Jan. 23 to a developer--with the mayor using a derogatory term for blacks. Goularte later explained he was repeating what another Pinole resident had said, but acknowledged he made a mistake in repeating it.
Goularte, 66, has been elected to the council three times.
Pinole is about 15 miles northeast of San Francisco. Its population of about 17,000 is 86% white and about 4% black.
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