Several people have asked him to stop.



But as of today, Salvatore Ballarino was still forwarding e-mails of jokes that make him chuckle -- and that, at times, make others feel very uncomfortable.



"I just sent six or seven out today," he said. "If I get an e-mail and I think it's funny, I'm going to send it out."

Many people are questioning Ballarino's judgment after the member of the all-volunteer Community Education Council District 31 forwarded an e-mail that has put Staten Island's African American community into a fury.

The e-mail, a mock photo strip sent to about 30 people on Jan. 4, shows a presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain, with speech balloons inventing a dialogue rife with racist jokes about black people.

The strip starts with McCain saying, "I have black people in my family tree," followed by Obama saying, "Really? That's great," and McCain responding with, "If I recall, they're still hanging there."

After each of the four jokes -- with punch lines that compare African American babies with excrement -- Obama is shown with a straight face.

"It wasn't what was said in the e-mails, it was the expression on Obama's face" that was funny, Ballarino said. "Let's face it: Even now, he don't have a clue what he's doing. Every time this guy opens his mouth, the market goes down 230 points. So that was my whole point."

But community leaders said the e-mail is far from funny.

"This guy [Obama] is Harvard-educated," said the Rev. Dr. Tony Baker of St. Philip's Baptist Church in Port Richmond. "This individual is intelligent beyond anyone who has attained the position [of president] recently. ... If anyone knows what's going on, it's the president of the United States."

What's most upsetting, he said, is that while Ballarino was appointed to the council to represent parents and children, the e-mail hardly demonstrates an appreciation of the different constituencies he is supposed to serve.

The Rev. Dr. Victor Brown, pastor of Mount Sinai United Christian Church, Tompkinsville, is also troubled by Ballarino's behavior.

"There is absolutely no place in the fabric of this life for the thread of racially divisive characterizations sewn by Sal Ballarino. His actions are irresponsible, despicable and in poor taste. I intend to lend my voice to the chorus of those urging our borough president to take swift [action] in this matter."

Rev. Brown called the comic strip, "totally offensive," adding, "There is no place for that kind of rhetoric or propaganda in these difficult times." He added that he believes the comments "do not reflect the mind and heart of the borough president," who, were he aware of it, "would be as apalled and offended as I and other minorities should be behind these racist characterizations."

Said Rev. Brown: "Any jokes or propaganda that in any way belittles or berates another ethnicity is wrong whether it is an African American telling off-color jokes about other ethnicities or other ethnicities doing it towards African Americans -- it doesn't matter what quarter it emanates from."

Rep. Michael E. McMahon (D-Staten Island/Brooklyn), reached this evening, said that he hadn't seen "the material in question," but said it concerned him that Ed Josey, head of the Island branch of the NAACP, was troubled by it. "He's a man of calmness and reason," McMahon said. "It caused alarm for me. I'm looking into it."

McMahon said that "if called for," Ballarino should step down.

If not, he said, Ballarino "should have a discussion with people like Ed Josey about it."

Some who have worked with Ballarino said the e-mails are not reflective of his character and contend the incident was an isolated example of his using "poor judgment."

"It's unfortunate -- Sal has done much good work for this council," said fellow CEC member Donald Pagano, who recently lost a race for North Shore city councilman. "You just have to be careful, that's the key. You have to be careful of what you view and what you send out."

But others said the disturbing e-mail was hardly the first that Ballarino, 67, has sent.



People who have been on his e-mail list for several months said they even asked for him to stop sending them because they found the communiques upsetting. In response, Ballarino said he has taken some people off his list.

While he acknowledged that some people might be offended -- "Did I make a mistake? Yeah, probably I shouldn't have forwarded that e-mail" -- he also said he doesn't plan to stop forwarding the e-mails to other people.

"They're jokes and cartoons -- nothing more," he said. "Besides, what are we becoming, a dictatorship? When they do away with the First Amendment, then somebody let me know."

The NAACP and other community leaders were planning to protest at a CEC meeting tonight, but the meeting was postponed because of the weather. The next meeting will be Thursday at 8 p.m. at the Petrides Educational Complex.

While the all-volunteer council does not have wide-ranging authority, it serves as a liaison between parents and the city Department of Education. There are 11 members: Nine are elected by local PTAs and two -- including Ballarino -- are appointed by the borough president.

Ballarino served as a member of the now-defunct Community School Board from 1993 and was appointed by Borough President James P. Molinaro, when the CECs replaced the school boards in 2004. During his tenure, he has headed a number of committees, most notably school construction.

Molinaro did not return messages left on his home answering machine today. His office released a brief statement saying "we are reviewing" the situation.

Other elected officials condemned the e-mail as insensitive, adding that an apology alone won't resolve the issue.

"The reality is, all people who are elected or appointed to a public office are held to higher standard, so whether something is perceived to be hurtful and racist or not, you have to treat it as if it actually were," said Councilman James Oddo (R-Mid-Island/Brooklyn). "When you get an e-mail that you think will offend some people, you delete it."

Oddo stopped short of saying Ballarino should resign.

Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott said he has spoken with the NAACP, the chancellor and the mayor, but that before anything could be done, Molinaro must sit down with Ballarino and hear his side of the story.

"I find this offensive," Walcott said. "I think it's really bad form for any individual, much less an individual representing a body like the CEC. But at the same time, I think there's a process."

Will Havemann, a DOE spokesman, said the matter was being "taken very seriously." He said only the mayor, the schools chancellor or the borough president has the power to oust Ballarino, whose term ends on June 30. The borough president would then be responsible for appointing a replacement.

--- Contributed by Amisha Padnani, Peter N. Spencer and Kiawana Rich