After racist leak, L.A. County Fed finds a new leader to repair damaged relationships
Los Angeles County Fed President Michael Bovard has served as a Fed for 28 years, and his two-decade tenure has not been without conflict with county officials. However, he is now ready to put the past behind him.
In the wake of a racist e-mail that was posted on a government website and circulated widely throughout the country, Bovard was forced to take a stand.
The message was originally discovered by the Financial Times in November. It was initially only one sentence, but then it began to expand. It was signed with a series of racist comments such as “kill all african americans” and “no nigerians in charge.”
The same racist comments were also printed in the original message.
On Jan. 28, Bovard issued a statement: “I am deeply saddened to learn about the racist comments made in this message. The Los Angeles County Fed is committed to its mission of providing the best service to the public and is committed to preserving and restoring its core values, including diversity, inclusiveness, and respect for individual differences.”
After backlash to the message, Bovard has since removed it from the Fed website. However, the original message remains posted on the website, and you can find it here.
The Los Angeles County Fed, where Bovard serves as its president, is the second-largest central bank in the county. It is governed by a seven-member board led by Bovard.
Bovard said that the situation is a matter of regret and that he hopes that the county will never experience a similar issue in the future.
“This is in retrospect a regrettable incident that, in my opinion, does not represent the commitment to public service that the Los Angeles County Fed, the central bank, requires,” Bovard said.
“I wish those behind the writing and printing of the message