Cotati councilman won't resign over blackface image

The Cotati city councilman who spurred protest by posting a picture of himself in blackface on his personal blog said Thursday he has no plans to step down.

George Barich, a vocal critic of President Obama, said the photograph and a music video showing rappers at the controls of a purple Air Force One are not racist and he will not resign.

?This is a whole lot about nothing,? said Barich, 51, whose Web site is www.gbarich.blogspot.com. ?It?s all coming from a small, fringe group of the Chamber of Commerce who don?t represent the citizenry.?

At a City Council meeting Wednesday night a handful of residents said they were outraged by the blog and told the rookie councilman he should resign.

John Moore said Barich was a liability to the city. He said he recognizes the right to free speech but thinks elected officials should be held to a higher standard.

?I don?t know anybody in 2009 who finds humor in that,? Moore said. ?Maybe 50 years ago in Mississippi.?

Barich has been in a running battle with city management over the use of city stationery bearing the city?s logo, an Indian head.

His blog contains a Halloween picture of him sporting blackface and an Afro that bears a likeness to the official emblem.

The blog site declares Cotati ?the funky city.? Traffic on the site more than tripled on Thursday, from a total of about 600 to 2,000