Atwater mayor accused of racist treatment of street vendor in Facebook video
Atwater Mayor Paul Creighton faced sharp criticism Monday for his treatment of a street vendor, whom some say was targeted in a racist manner.
A Facebook post that says it’s describing events from Sunday said Creighton approached a street vendor only identified as Rolando and a woman trying to buy fruit from the man.
In a video apparently taken by the woman, she says in Spanish she felt harassed and scared. She said “this crazy man,” who others have identified as Creighton, says the vendor does not pay taxes and doesn’t belong on the corner he was using.
Creighton admitted the video depicted him.
The woman in the video said the man was in a spot commonly used by vendors on Atwater Boulevard.
Creighton defended his actions Monday during the Atwater City Council meeting after hearing multiple people take issue with him confronting the vendor.
He said he stopped to ask the man if he had a business license and to tell him he needed to move from the property he was on. Creighton said the vendor spoke little English so the interaction was difficult.
“There was never any racial comments or accusations or anything,” he said. “He was actually a very polite gentleman. I don’t know how things got spun into this.”
Creighton took heat from a number of advocates on Monday who showed up to the council meeting. One of those people was Merced Councilmember Bertha Perez, who said she was there to get answers from Creighton.
“Maybe an apology from the mayor. That would be a start,” she told The Fresno Bee.
Perez also responded earlier in the day to the Facebook post that described the incident with “f--- that mayor.”
She doubled down on her comments when asked.
“I feel very strongly about anybody being very racist to anybody,” she said. “I don’t have a problem saying f--- a f---ing racist.”
More than one public speaker at the meeting pointed to Atwater’s designation as a “sanctuary city for business,” saying it’s hypocritical in claiming to support business by ignoring state COVID-19 restrictions and then hassling a man trying to make ends meet as a vendor.
“He’s trying to survive in this city like anyone,” Livingston resident Floripes Dzib said.
Some speakers, such as Crissy Gallardo, went further, calling for Creighton to resign. She called him a “mediocre white racist” leader in a city made up mostly of people of color. Atwater is nearly 57% Latino, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Census.
“I’m fed up of white racists being in elected positions and not being held accountable for their racist words and actions,” she said. “An apology is not enough.”
Mayor’s supporters also speak out
Some speakers did come to Creighton’s defense, saying their personal dealings have led them to believe he is not a racist. Atwater resident Eduardo Perez addressed Creighton’s detractors during the public comment.
“You guys are judging a man without knowing him,” he said. “Isn’t that the definition of racist?”
The meeting often turned into a ruckus, with Creighton having to call for a recess at least three times to cool down arguing and shouting. All of the mayor’s colleagues on the dais expressed support for him.
UC Merced professor Tanya Golash-Boza, who also attended the meeting, said implementing city ordinances that primarily target people of color is racist whether they are intended to be or not.
She noted that street vendors are overwhelmingly not white.
“It doesn’t matter what your personal attitudes are,” she said. “What I care about is the policies that you implement to which they continue the long legacy of Anglo supremacy in the Central Valley.”
This story was originally published April 26, 2021 at 11:49 PM.
