Frankum vows to continue campaign Frankum vows to continue campaign (October 18, 2002)

By Justin Scheck

Tom Frankum is continuing his city council campaign, in spite of the dissolution of much of his support after he admitted to having sexual contacts with students while teaching at Palo Alto's Gunn High School.

Frankum, 61, said Tuesday that he will "absolutely" continue his campaign. He has made numerous public appearances since the incidents were made public, including a candidate debate Tuesday and the opening of a new section of the Stevens Creek Trail on Saturday.

"I'm basically the same good, community-minded guy I was last week, but there's one factoid that's come out," he said.

As first reported in last week's Voice, Frankum admitted to groping a former student in 1980 and to having sexual "liaisons" with students in the late 1970s. But he backtracked Tuesday, saying those liaisons were not with students.

"I was very, very offended with the suggestion that I was sexually involved with my students," he said.

So were many of his supporters.

"I just pulled my endorsement of Tom Frankum because of what I read in the Mountain View Voice," said Assembly Rep. Elaine Alquist.

Mayor Sally Lieber followed suit. "It's a regrettable situation," she said. "It's upsetting for the families involved, and regrettably, I'm going to have to work against him."

County Supervisor Liz Kniss, whom Frankum had listed as a supporter on his Web site, asked the candidate to remove her name. Kniss' chief of staff, Kindel Blau-Launer, said Kniss never endorsed Frankum in the first place.

Rose Filicetti, a trustee on the Mountain View Whisman school board, whom Frankum listed as a supporter, also said she never formally endorsed him. But she, like many others, had little to say about the issue. "I can't see any point in kicking somebody while they're down. ...This has to be something for the voters to choose. I'm not going to throw stones at him," she said.

Theo Olson, a candidate for the Mountain View-Whisman School Board, also pulled his endorsement.

"There are now people who have doubts about whether I'm fit to serve. I don't think those doubts are well-founded at all," Frankum said.

Julie Lovins, a Frankum supporter and member of the city's downtown committee, agreed. "Tom was, is, and always will be an excellent council candidate. The only thing that has changed is the press coverage of his private life," she said.

"I wouldn't be changing any of my support based on this news," said Ross Heitkamp, who has worked with Frankum as a member of Friends of the Stevens Creek Trail.

"He's such a dynamic person. He's got great energy. He's done a lot for the community. I don't know what happened 22 years ago, but it seems like ancient history to me," Heitkamp said.

"I'm not going to shut off and hide," Frankum said. I'm going to be there for you and I'm going to be there for the voters."
Candice Shih contributed to this story
-- E-mail Justin Scheck at editor@mv-voice.com