Eric Chan (Photos gcwd.com, Facebook screengrab)
“Negro”, “PO-Lice”, “rendition them”, and “The Gays” all have been used in San Gabriel County Water District Vice President Eric Chan’s Facebook posts.
By Sean McMorris
Chan, who lives in San Gabriel, was first elected to the San Gabriel County Water District (SGCWD) Board of Directors in 2013. He retained his post after the 2018 SGCWD elections were canceled for lack of challengers. Chan unsuccessfully ran for San Gabriel City Council in 2016.
Chan posts daily on Facebook, and most of his posts and comments are ultra conservative and political in nature. In them he and his followers often decry political correctness and vent about liberals. It is fair to say that Chan’s Facebook page is unfiltered and unabashedly crass.
Chan’s views on race and racism became prominent themes in his Facebook posts after George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minnesota police officers. Some believe Chan’s comments in those posts went too far, and at least one constituent has called for him to resign.
Documents obtained by ColoradoBoulevard.net through a California Public Records Act request reveal that a community member reported Chan’s Facebook posts to the SGCWD on June 2, 2020. The subject line of the email read “Unacceptable racial remarks by Eric Chan.” In the body of the email the community member wrote:
I saw the Fb page of Eric Chan. He calls black people negroes on his page. I do not like that I am paying this man’s salary as a board director since I am a customer of yours.
The complainant noted that the images of Chan’s posts were sent to multiple news publications and stated that “Mr. Chan should resign.”
Offensive quotes
The referenced posts have since been removed from Chan’s Facebook page, but you can view photo copied screen grabs of them here.
In one of his multiple posts where he uses the word “Negro”, Chan writes, “All of this vandalism, looting, violence, and mayhem will probably NOT make much ‘regular’ hard-working, Tax-paying, already STRUGGLING Americans more sympathetic to the Negroes’ cause, no matter HOW ‘righteous’ it may be…”
In another post Chan wrote, “Most of the Negroes protesting and RIOTING in L.A. and Minneapolis look like they are NOT following the ‘Face-Mask’ and ‘Social Distancing’ rules. Does this mean they all just gave each other the ‘Rona’? Are a bunch of them now INFECTED?”
And in another, “Will the protesters have ENOUGH of their NONESENSE and start GRABBING the Rioters and Looters and start putting THEIR knees on the rioters necks for 8 minutes and forcing the SCUMBAG Rioters and Looters to yell, ‘I can’t breathe!’…?”
SGCWD Board
Once the posts were brought to the SGCWD’s attention, staff and the Board of Directors appear to have acted swiftly to contain the issue and distance themselves from Chan’s posts. After receiving the complaint, SGCWD Board Member, Mary Cammarano, immediately emailed the following:
Hello All, I just received this and I am angry, upset and very embarrassed, we need to deal with this ASAP!!!!!
Cammarano responded to the complainant that she was very upset about Mr. Chan’s posts, and she assured the complainant that the matter would be addressed by the Board of Directors. Staff then prepared a response statement about Chan’s posts in case the press contacted SGCWD for comment.
The matter was brought up at the end of the June 9, 2020 SGCWD board meeting. The minutes from that meeting state that Chan apologized for the posts. Two Board Directors suggested that Chan state on his Facebook page that he intended no offense.
No such statement of apology could be found on Chan’s Facebook page, but a condescending comment about his being an elected official who would never say anything offensive was posted by him on the same day that his racial comments were reported to the SGCWD.
Posts have not slowed down
Eric Chan’s social media posts have not slowed down since he was reprimanded by the SGCWD Board of Directors on June 9. While he has stopped using the word “Negro”, he continues to post comments, images, and links that many will find insensitive or offensive. In a June 15 post about the Gay Pride Parade, Chan wrote, “Wait… What?! So… BLM is IMMUNE to Rona, but, The Gays AREN’T…?” Another post shows a picture of Rayshard Brooks, who was recently killed by police in Georgia, with a negative narrative written over his face and the words “I’m a martyr now…” at the bottom. On June 14, Chan posted an article about antisemitic flyers that were circulated on a college campus to promote “ending Jewish Privilege.” Chan wrote at the top of the post, “My Jewish brothers and sisters… Are you ready to become conservatives yet…? Welcome!”
All of these posts were still on Chan’s Facebook page at the time of the publishing of this article. You can view screen grabs of some of Eric Chan’s Facebook posts Facebook posts here.
Sad he dislikes himself so much. I might suggest he tread very lightly using derogatory words noting his last name. I’m old enough to remember when that name was used in way he might not care for. For that matter, he might want to meet this woman: https://abc7.com/torrance-tirade-wilson-park-anti-asian-rant-torrances-karen/6242074/ And if he thinks siding with the white racists will win him any brownie points, the joke will be on him! All they will want is to use him. Meh! ?
I still think a better option is to do him like they did Kim Davis- a dissenting citizens challenges him for the position and wins. If he loses a duel fair and square, nobody can paint him as a ‘victim of cancel culture’, which has been an effective shield for people who say awful things lately.