The Marin Independent Journal's headlines screamed. Rick Oltman, chairperson of the Republican Central Committee of Marin was removed from his post for publicly agreeing with the beating of illegals in Southern California.

Then the headlines screamed he'd been reinstated and without showing any regret other than he shouldn't have spoken publicly.

Over the past years, however, there have been persistent reports from Mr. Oltman's Canal neighbors about harassment and undemocratic tactics used by him and his cohorts, many of whom are or were members of a Canal property owners' association, the National Rifle Association or other conservative groups.

It becomes obvious when reviewing his record that Oltman has based his career on making life uncomfortable for illegal and legal immigrants alike.

Getting his start on Marin's Channel 31, Mr. Oltman came into prominence when he helped form a neighborhood group intent on cleaning up crime in the Canal.

Members of the conservative "clique," in what some see as a zeal to raise property values, called for greater policing of the neighborhood and demanded the INS round up illegals.

The extra policing, in the form of the Canal Task Force, was implemented by the City at the cost of 1.5 million a year.

That the Canal neighborhood has a crime rate lower or on a par with other similarly populated areas in Marin was of no consequence.

What did matter was that one segment of the community was able to use police to protect itself from another, even to reducing a police presence in other needy areas.

For awhile, the Canal looked like an occupied zone with police drive-bys every few minutes. The Task Force was disbanded about a year ago.

It should be noted that, at the same time, the only other yearly allotment to the Canal was $134,000 for maintenance of Pickleweed Park. And that in an area which produces 7 to 10 million dollars in sales and property taxes.

What apparently hadn't occurred to Mr. Oltman and others is that they were being watched and their actions found offensive by many residents.

An underlying current in the anti-illegal movement has been they assume they're more valuable than their neighbors.

Following Rick's efforts with the Canal Criminal Task Force, he became active in an attempt to make curbside hiring illegal. And he was there at a particularly rancorous picket line in front of curbside workers at Marin Square on Bellam.

At the same time, he and his group were also against the opening of a hiring hall which would have taken care of the problem.

Other activities Oltman's been involved in include the highly publicized move by his neighbor and friend, Bill Weeks, to gate off their street so less desirables couldn't park in the public spots.

He was right there with Prop 187, the anti-illegal initiative of the 1994 election, his past efforts pointing him out as an "up and comer." He's since become poster boy for conservatives throughout the state.

Sue Gilliam, another resident of the Canal and conservative activists, is president of the Marin Chapter of the National Rifle Association. It was she who was photographed in the IJ giving Rick a smooch on his reinstatement. They came up through the ranks together so it's a natural for them to work in tandem.

Ms. Gilliam, however, has her own problems with her neighbors. Not only has she been in on numerous actions with Oltman, several incidents need to be examined further.

It should be understood Ms. Gilliam has taken it upon herself to tear down any posters, which are illegal, appearing on telephone poles in the area. These she's been known to hand over to City Hall for prosecution.

A long-time resident was buying a newspaper from a corner box when Ms. Gilliam pulled up in her car and jumped out. Cutting down the offending poster, Gilliam waved what looked like a rug cutter in the woman's face to keep the woman from stopping her. Not that the woman had any intention of doing so. However, she did recognize Ms. Gilliam.

In another incident, a Latino was waiting for a bus next to a poster. Again, Ms. Gilliam drove up and jumped out. On leaving the car, she immediately waved what looked like a knife at the gentleman.

Having escaped hell in his homeland, the man's first reaction was to pull out his own knife and defend himself. As far as he knew, he was being attacked by a mad woman.

Luckily for Ms. Gilliam, he corrected his actions and stepped away, realizing he'd be blamed even if he was acting in self-defense.

She continued threatening him with the knife until she got back in her car and took off.

On another occasion, a meeting to discuss changing the name of Bahia Vista School to Cesar Chavez School, a proponent was being interviewed in the parking lot by a TV news crew.

Ms. Gilliam walked into camera range and started shouting insults at the proponent. Then she squealed out of the parking lot.

On another occasion, Ms. Gilliam and Mr. Oltman, along with others, broke up a community meeting by calling the police and blocking advocates for peaceful solutions from gaining entrance.

Many of these incidents have been reported in the media. What's surprising is people haven't connected these individuals with the damage and insults they've heaped on their own neighborhood.

As far as their neighbors in the Canal are concerned, many wonder why such troublemakers and "loose cannons" have been given command of the Republican Party of Marin, usually a reasonable and fairly enlightened organization.

(The CP tried numerous times to get a response from Mr. Oltman but was unable.)