Richmond Mayor of 1990 Learning French Toast Cooking? Media and Bay Area Governments Debate

Photo of original clipping, modern eggs by Lurene. Eggs are ingredient in most French Toast meals.



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Published news story for El Cerrito Journal, December 6, 1990, by Lurene K. Helzer, “EC council enters debate on columnist; Councilmembers cite First Amendment, urge reinstatement of West County Times writer”. President Obama and Fox News not getting along in 2009 is not a new concept in the United States. This was case of a local government butting its head with its local media in 1990:

Issues that leave the press and government on opposite sides of the constitutional fence are as common as stereotypes in old cowboy and Indian movies. But – like seeing a movie where all the cowboys are sporting bows and arrows – a recent media issue has prompted El Cerrito politicians to beat the drums of the First Amendment.

Instead of the media defending its freedoms in the face of government intrusion, the council is supporting freedom of the press against the press itself.

The El Cerrito City Council passed a resolution Nov. 26 urging The West County Times to reinstate a popular opinion column which was recently suspended after Richmond Mayor George Livingston complained to editors about its content.

“…Censorship of ideas and opinions no matter how noble the cause is as unacceptable now as it was when the authors of the Constitution drafted the First Amendment,” the unanimously passed resolution read.

The council called on The West County Times to reinstate the “Insider” column with “apologies to its readership for its temporary absence and to designate Michael Cabanatuan as its author.”

The incident erupted when columnist Cabanatuan wrote an article which included comments about Richmond Mayor George Livingston.

The mayor had planned a trip to France and Cabanatuan wrote, “The mayor will soon be off to Strasbourg, France, on ‘city business,’ according to his weekly schedule.”

Cabanatuan went on to ask if the mayor was “searching for the recipe for French Toast.”

He made other gags about the Richmond City Council’s proposal to ban the rap group 2 Live Crew from the Richmond Auditorium and about Republicans in general.

Livingston, who was paying for the trip himself, complained to editors at the Times. He said the column implied he was taking the trip at the city’s expense.

Following Livingston’s complaints, Cabanatuan was suspended for three days, mainly for not “getting the other side of the story,” Managing Editor Al Pacciorini said.

Shortly after Cabanatuan’s suspension, a number of West County Times employees staged a “sick-out” to protest the decision, according to press reports....




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