Word: mayor
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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South Gate's mayor, Henry Gonzalez, did more than a double take. Shortly after the Sanchezes painted their home last September, he dispatched members of his staff to take a census of the city's palette. They discovered not only a discordant aesthetic but a creeping challenge to the ruling monotony: one home is a bright wad of bubble gum; another, a lime daiquiri; and a third can't quite make up its mind (the siding is pumpkin orange, the trim is bright fuchsia, and the door is turquoise). And then there are the shops. A red-and-tangerine party...
...mayor has resolved to ban what he calls the "Day-Glo colors--the wild reds, oranges and purples." If he is successful, the mainly Latino city of 93,000 will be joining a nationwide movement, in which exclusive residential communities from Denver to Fort Worth, Texas, increasingly mandate color, fencing and even what you can park in your driveway. That freedom from choice shows up in commerce. Benjamin Moore paints reports from its New Jersey headquarters that neutrals are in and sales of Briarwood (taupe) and Richmond Bisque (beige) are up across the country...
Still, a color code might be expected in a subdivision but would be unusual for a whole city, especially one in which the median household income is fairly low, around $27,000. The mayor's plans already have emotions running high. The owner of a yellow house hired a lawyer after the city came knocking. A resident with a soft spot for hot pink (her lipstick and house matched perfectly) threatened a reporter with bodily harm when the topic of her color preferences was broached...
...skinned black partner in the venerable Atlanta law firm of Wringer Fleasom & Tick. The nickname he picked up at Morehouse College, Roger Too White, reflected his disdain for all the campus talk about black separatism. But his old Morehouse friend and fraternity brother Wesley Dobbs Jordan is now the mayor of Atlanta. That connection explains why Roger is asked to represent Georgia Tech's All-American running back, Fareek ("the Cannon") Fannon...
...race-conscious Atlanta, except the girl's furious father, wants to see this explosive matter go public. Mayor Jordan tells Roger, "This case has the potential to do more damage to this city than anything since the murder of Martin Luther King or the Rodney King riots, because it gets right down to the core of the white man's fear. Do you see what I'm saying?" Roger sees. But the rumors are out there already; a local Internet gossip sheet is adding new details almost daily. Quickly, the city's white business interests and black leadership huddle...