Tiago Fonseca met with Frank and interested him in the positive force he could have and role he could play as mayor of Fort Bragg. “Tigger” said that, as a man known for his indomitable integrity, Frank would be a shoo-in to win the mayoral race—by a landslide, even! Frank was indeed very popular with his former football players (from when he served as head coach of the Fort Bragg High varsity team), and students (when he taught Social Studies there), many of whom still lived in the city and were voters. Frank was also admired by the citizens in general for his staunch determination to do the right thing, when necessary in a Huck Finnesque, “all right then, I’ll go to hell!” fashion.
Once Frank threw his hat into the mayoral ring, other aspirants to the office all but threw in the towel. The result was a very ho-hum election, as it was a foregone conclusion that Frank would be voted into office.
Tigger ended up being not overly happy with the results of his inserting himself into the political process this time, though, as his attempts to insinuate himself into Frank’s actions as mayor fell flat, being met with resounding refusals on Frank’s part to be controlled by the self-styled “king maker” or even have his suggestions seriously considered.
Frank’s time as mayor was not without its controversial decisions, as doing what he thought was right seldom if ever found approbation with everyone. Every act that favored one person or group disfavored another, and not everyone was happy to be on the losing side of a mayoral edict. Mayor Calloway continued to have the unwavering support of a strong majority of his constituents, though, and it wasn’t long before he was being suggested for, then gained a groundswell of support in running for Governor of California.
Not especially wanting to leave his hometown for the flat, hot metropolis of Sacramento, Frank rejected pleas to make himself available for that office until some leading citizens approached him and implored him to consider the good he could do by donning that mantle and running that gauntlet. “Look at the good things you’ve accomplished for Fort Bragg and Mendocino County. Just think what you could do for your hometown and County from the Governor’s office—and for all in the great State of California!”
Out of a feeling of duty and obligation, Frank finally acquiesced to that persuasion. Not that he considered himself a great and polished administrator, but he trusted in his methodology of keeping it simple: doing the right thing in every situation, “angel take the foremost.” Frank used that expression with himself, as he didn’t want the devil to take the hindmost, or any part at all.
To fast forward in time and cut to the chase, Frank was elected as Governor of California. Not in a landslide, though; after all, he was scarcely known outside of Mendocino County prior to his candidacy. As the results came in, in a down-to-the-wire back-and-forth of first him in the lead, then his opponent, Frank had mixed emotions. He almost wanted to lose. He wouldn’t have minded it much. If he were to lose, he could return to his hometown and County, and be back “in the bosom” of his family and friends. But he preferred to win, confident that he could accomplish good things for his fellow Californians by sticking to his formula of ignoring special interests—and even his own interests—and making all decisions based on what he considered to be the right and just thing to do, and what was best for the majority.
Following through on his agenda to make all decisions based on this criteria, rather than use the office to set himself up for a comfortable future and lavish lifestyle, Frank barred all lobbyists from the State Capitol; he also refused to listen to all influencers and political power brokers. He hosted a weekly “Straight Talk” 30-minute TV segment, during which he explained to the citizens of California what was going on with the government: which decisions had been made during the past week and why they were made, and which were upcoming. He invited people to let him know how they felt about these things. Frank explained to them that he would listen to them, and then proceed according to what he felt was in the best interests of the majority of the people. He let them know that the reality of politics was that he would please all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, but pleasing all the people all the time was impossible.
Frank selected people at random, regardless of political affiliation or any other demographic, to meet with him on a weekly schedule. He did this to give “ordinary citizens” an opportunity to tell him what was really happening in their community, and their opinion of it—what should change, and how they felt improvements could be effected. Frank ran through the 58 Counties in alphabetical order, from Alameda to Yuba, inviting six people from that week’s visited County to meet with him on Saturdays, first as a group, then with each individual, and finally as a group again. Rather than host them at the Capitol, he went to them, in that way being able to visit each County and see for himself how it was faring.
Due to his unorthodox approach to the political process, many politicians (especially those who normally welcomed lobbyists and influence peddlers with open arms) were disgruntled with Frank and formed a coalition to try to get him recalled. As most people appreciated Frank’s transparency and fresh way of doing things, though, this attempt failed miserably.
However, when his four years were up, Frank decided that he had had enough. The push-back and go-slow machinations waged against him were only part of his reason for leaving public office. While true that homesickness was another, his main reason for stepping away from politics was that he realized that it was futile to try to solve all the problems. It was like a game of whack-a-mole. You hit one problem here, and another one pops up over there. And even when you have an idea how to solve or at least alleviate a problem, the resistance to your proposed solution is so great as to squelch it, or there simply aren’t enough resources or know-how—or the will, in many cases—to accomplish true, lasting solutions.
Although still very popular with the citizenry, Frank decided not to run for re-election. On his final “Straight Talk” TV show, he said regarding the upcoming Gubernatorial campaign, wherein he would be the incumbent, “If nominated I will not run, and if elected, I will not serve.” He gave his reasons: “I hope I have accomplished some good. I think I have. But things have gotten to the point that I feel as if I’m bashing my head against a wall. I face resistance from all sides. Perhaps someone else can take up the baton and accomplish something. I hope so, for your sakes. For all of our sakes. But I doubt it. I’m sorry to have to say that, but I’ve always been straight with you and I am, after my four years in office, downright disillusioned and pessimistic about true and lasting progress being possible. I’m at the very least highly skeptical that it can and will occur. Here I stand; I cannot say otherwise. God help us all!”
The people—most of them—were sad to see Governor Calloway retire. In the next election, they voted for the candidate that repelled them the least, as usual. It wasn’t long before most of Frank’s reforms were dismantled, his improvements unraveled, and laws he shepherded through the legislature repealed. It was almost as if he had never been Governor at all.
Frank Calloway, Football Coach (1957; #1 of 5)
Frank Calloway, Teacher (1967; #2 of 5)
Frank Calloway, Attorney (1977; #3 of 5)
Frank Calloway, Jehovah’s Witness (1997, #5 of 5)